A Different Kind of Summons
by Aesop
Summary: During the mission to Wave, Naruto saves a stranger who gives him a special gift as a thank-you. This gift changes everything for Naruto.
1. Chapter 1

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: After watching the anime for so long, reading many Naruto fanfics and seeing how others handled the character, this idea got stuck in my head and wouldn't leave. On the mission to Wave, Naruto meets and helps a stranger who gives him a special gift as a thank-you. Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this.

CH.1

Naruto walked down the main street of the small village, grumbling over his current 'mission'. He thought he had left D-ranks behind in Konoha, but here he was, in the middle of a C-rank turned A-rank mission, fetching groceries. It made sense for him to do it, he supposed. Tazuna and all of his family were targets and being kept close to home where they could be guarded. Naruto was just the unlucky one chosen to fetch the food the family needed to have supper that night.

The small grocery didn't have much to spare, but for Tazuna's family the owner was willing to lower his price and do what he could to help the man trying to free the country from Gato. It was just down the street, and as yet, there was no sign of trouble from the mercenaries the businessman employed.

Almost as if the thought had called down trouble on his head, there was a pained cry in the next street and several angry voices. He didn't hesitate but immediately turned down an alley and cut over to the next street. He saw several rough looking men surrounding a stammering merchant that they had evidently knocked to the ground.

"I-I don't have any money on me, just trade goods I'm bringing to Gato. He won't be pleased if you steal them. I'm expected."

"Yeah," one of the men laughed. "You were. Why should Gato pay for what you've got to sell when you can have an unfortunate run in with bandits and never make your meeting?" He brandished his knife.

"T-that's despicable!" The merchant shouted, outraged. "What kind of businessman does that?"

"The crooked-no-good-backstabbing kind," Naruto offered, walking into the street and drawing a kunai. "Be sure to tell all the other merchants." He didn't wait for the thugs to attack. Instead, he created a dozen shadow clones and jumped them.

It was a short fight, and all of Gato's men soon lay bruised and bleeding on the ground. Naruto turned to the merchant and helped him up. "Maybe you'll be more careful about who you do business with in the future. This Gato character seems like scum."

"Rest assured, young sir, I shall be more careful." He looked more closely at his rescuer, taking in his bright orange jumpsuit and looked confused for a reason that escaped the boy. "Are you a shinobi by any chance?"

"Sure am," Naruto said proudly. "Uzumaki Naruto, the next Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village! Believe it!"

"I see. I am Sato Washi. Allow me to thank you properly for the rescue." Putting down his pack, he began rummaging through it, and after a moment, pulled out a long narrow box. "I believe this is what Gato wanted so badly. It would bring a rather high price if sold, which is probably why he wants to steal it."

Naruto's eyes widened at the site of the ornately carved wooden box. "What is it?"

"It is something that shinobi find rather valuable, I believe. I actually chanced upon it in a small village that was cleaning out the possessions of a recently deceased missing-nin that had been hiding among them for years. He had no family, so they sold his home and belongings for the village coffers. I got it for a song." He handed Naruto the box. "It's a summoning scroll."

The boy looked at him blankly, and the merchant sighed. Was the boy really a shinobi?

"It allows you to summon creatures to fight with you if you get into trouble. I don't know much about them, but several prestigious shinobi clans have them."

"Wow," Naruto stared at the scroll. "I think I heard about some crazy kunoichi in our village that can pull snakes out of thin air. Bet that's how she does it."

"Probably," Washi shrugged. "I don't know much about it myself, as I don't deal with shinobi all that often. I'm not even sure what that is intended to summon." He looked around furtively. "Thank you again, but I'd better get back to my boat before Gato realizes his men failed. Enjoy the scroll." With that, Sato Washi turned and hurried toward the docks as fast as he could.

Naruto tucked the box under his arm and headed on to the grocery, resolving to ask Kakashi-sensei about the scroll later. It could help him be an even more awesome shinobi, he was sure of it, but he needed to know more about summons in general first.


	2. Chapter 2

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this.

CH.2

"Any trouble on your 'mission'?" Sakura smirked as Naruto came through the door, his arms loaded with packages.

"For an awesome shinobi like me? Of course not!" He gave her his best smile, but she only rolled her eyes and turned back to her obsession.

"Sasuke's gotten nearly to the top of the tree while you were out fetching groceries," her tone showed her disdain for the chore. "Only four days. That's incredible!"

"You got it yesterday," Naruto pointed out. "Guess that makes you more incredible, doesn't it Sakura-chan!" He gave her his best winning smile, but she ignored him and went back to mooning over the Uchiha, who pointedly ignored her.

"You can bring those in here, Naruto-kun," Tsunami called from the kitchen. "I'll get dinner started."

Naruto went into the kitchen and began helping with the preparations. Setting the box on the counter, he soon forgot about it as Tsunami set him to work chopping vegetables for the evening's soup.

He picked it up before leaving the room, though, when he saw Sasuke eyeing it curiously. Doing so only made the other boy more curious. The conversation over dinner revolved around training and plans for the bridge, leaving Naruto no opportunity to ask about summoning. Frowning, he deciding to corner his teacher after dinner.

Kakashi, however, waved him off. "You've got a lot of work to do tomorrow, Naruto, a day of training to make up, after your errand," he pointed out, flipping another page of the Icha Icha he hadn't bothered to glance up from. "Get some sleep. You'll have a chance to ask your questions tomorrow." Naruto grumbled a bit, but went off to bed. He noticed Sasuke eyeing the box curiously and felt an odd trepidation about that. Sasuke was his teammate. Why should he feel nervous around the other boy even if he was a jerk sometimes? Nevertheless, he kept the box close to him while he slept.

OOOOOOOOOO

The next morning Sasuke and Sakura went to work at the bridge, guarding Tazuna. This gave Naruto the perfect opening.

Wiping sweat from his brow, he ventured, "Kakahi-sensei? What do you know about Summoning scrolls?"

The silver-haired man looked up from his book, surprised. "Why do you want to know about that?"

"Just curious," Naruto fibbed. "I've heard of them, but don't know that much."

Snapping his little orange book shut, the Jonin regarded him thoughtfully. "Hmm, well, they're rather rare, usually held by clans that guard them jealously. The Uchiha, for instance, had the Hawk summoning contract." He thought a moment. "When you sign a summoning contract…it has to be signed in blood, by the way, you become bound by blood to that particular Summons. It isn't unknown for shinobi to have more than one contract, but the creatures have to get along. Snake and Toad Summons, for instance, don't get along well. Does that answer your questions?"

The blond boy was pumping his fists in the air. "So all I have to do is sign some contract in blood and then I can summon some cool creatures to fight beside me? Wow! If I get some really powerful summons to help me fight, I'll be Hokage in no time, believe it!"

Kakashi chuckled. "Not always to fight. Different summons are suitable for different tasks. Dogs for instance, aren't too helpful in a shinobi fight, but they make excellent trackers. You also have to remember that they aren't ordinary animals. They're intelligent and you have to show them respect." He smiled. "The Toad Sage, Jiraiya, has gotten on the bad side of the boss toad on more than one occasion. It never ends well for him."

"I'll remember that."

"You may get the chance to sign one someday," Kakashi allowed. "But they are hard to come by."

"Thanks, sensei," Naruto called from the top of the tree he'd been practicing on. Kakashi nodded, satisfied.


	3. Chapter 3

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this.

CH.3

The training continued for the rest of the day, and Naruto was beat by the time he headed back to Tazuna's home. The evening went much as the one before it had. Sasuke brooded. Sakura mooned over him. Kakashi ignored them all in favor of his little orange book.

Naruto kept the box close to him again that night. Sasuke hadn't asked about it or even mentioned it, but Naruto had seen him looking curiously at the box. Early the next morning, Naruto took the scroll and went into the forest. It took him a long time to work his way through the scroll. There were strange ideas to absorb and a few unfamiliar kanji to figure out. Eventually, though, he thought he had a vague idea of what was supposed to happen.

Pricking his finger with a kunai, he signed the contract in blood. Then following the scroll's instructions as best he was able, he slammed a hand down and poured chakra into the technique. As he did, the thought passed through his mind that he really needed to talk to someone who understood the scroll.

There was a puff of smoke that dissipated quickly, leaving a grown man behind. He was tall with broad shoulders and blonde hair, the same shade as Naruto's own. It was somewhat longer but just as spiky. The newcomer grinned down at Naruto. "Hey, me. How ya doin'?"

"Huh?" Naruto asked intelligently. Then a grin spread across his face. "I did it! I did it!" He pumped his fist in the air and jumped about as the man eyed him with tolerant good humor.

"Yes. You summoned me. I'm guessing you want answers about the contract."

"Yeah, um… you're me, right? I mean another me?" He was still grinning but tried to settle himself a bit.

The newcomer nodded. "It's a hard concept to get your brain around at first, but yeah, I'm you from another reality. I signed the contract over a decade ago, when I wasn't much older than you." He looked around. "This is Wave Country, right?"

Naruto nodded.

"So, how much did you understand about the contract before you signed it?"

Naruto looked away, reddening a bit. "Um, well…I understood enough to get you here."

"If you're like me," his counterpart sighed, "you've probably had to figure out a lot on your own, including how to read." Naruto blushed harder, and grumbled a bit under his breath, but decided that it would be pretty stupid to lie to yourself . "Yeah, it sucks being an outcast in your own village. I'm guessing you only had one decent teacher at the academy."

"Iruka-sensei was the only one that ever cared," Naruto shrugged, confirming the guess.

"Same here. He's a good man, but he got to us too late to really do much good." He sighed and paused for a good few minutes that had Naruto wriggling uncomfortably. "Well, moving on. There are some things you should know about the scroll, and some basic rules you need to follow."

"Rules? Like what?" Naruto wasn't a great fan of rules.

"Well, you can summon alternate versions of yourself from virtually any reality, as long as that version of yourself has signed the contract." He held up a hand to stop Naruto's next question. "Don't ask how a contract to summon other yous from alternate realities got written and distributed across the universes to begin with. I haven't a clue myself."

"Alternate realities…?"

His counterpart nodded. "Yeah. Like I said, hard concept. Basically, there is a world for every choice anyone has ever made. There are worlds where the Kyuubi never attacked Konoha. There are worlds where Sasuke or Sakura wound up as its Jinchuuriki. There are worlds where Iwa won the Third Great Shinobi War." The other Naruto spread his arms wide. "There are endless variations. There's probably even a world where the only difference is what I had for breakfast."

"Weird," Naruto breathed wide-eyed, his head starting to hurt just trying to absorb the notion.

"Yeah. Kind of freaked me out too at first." His counterpart took a seat under a tree and gestured for Naruto to join him. "It makes a great training tool. If you want to know more about seals, you can concentrate, when you're summoning, on a version of us that is a seal master. If you want to learn a particular technique, just ask for a version of us that knows it and can teach it to you."

Naruto leaned forward, excited. "REALLY? I can learn some of the Hokage's special techniques? Or Kakashi-sensei's?"

Wincing, his counterpart clamped a hand over the excitable blonde's mouth. "First? Easy with the shouting. You don't want to draw attention to us. There are enemies around here, right?"

Naruto made an effort to calm himself and nodded.

"Better. Now, it really would be best to keep the contract secret. Second, yeah you can do that, but if you don't have the chakra control or the experience to master the technique, no teacher in the world can help you." Naruto looked ready to argue, but the other pushed on before he could open his mouth. "There are versions of us that are outstanding medics, but even after years of practice, my chakra control isn't good enough to master more than basic medical techniques." He sighed. "And…I never did manage to make one basic clone. I can make 10 without trouble, but one? I can't use such a tiny amount of chakra."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I got the same problem. I always overload it. Took me forever to figure out I was putting too much chakra into it."

"No one even told you that much?" his counterpart looked briefly angry. "Summon me next time you're in Konoha. I'll drop by the academy and set a few of their so-called teachers on fire." Naruto paled slightly at the idea, but his counterpart waved him off. "Relax. I probably wouldn't do that."

"Yeah…ok," Naruto said hesitantly, watching the other warily. "Umm…You said there were some rules?" he ventured, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah. The most important thing to remember is that, when you summon, you need to keep firmly in mind what it is you want. If you summon without any specifics there's no telling what you'll get, and some of the possibilities are pretty unpleasant. I'm guessing you were thinking you'd like someone who could explain the scroll to you?"

"That's right, and here you are" Naruto nodded, grinning. He remembered that he had thought that while doing the summoning. It had been a fleeting thought, but he saw no reason to admit that.

"Well, there are some things you always need to do when summoning. Certain parameters to keep in mind."

"Para-what?"

"Parameters. Guidelines. In this case, features you want your summons to have. Remember I said earlier that you could summon a person who knew a particular technique and could teach it to you?" Naruto nodded. "Those would be the parameters; the knowledge of the technique and the ability to teach it."

"I get it. So what parameters do I need to keep in mind every time?"

"Whoever you summon needs to be sane."

"Sane?"

"Sane. As in, not a homicidal maniac. Trust me, a Jinchuuriki that hears voices telling him to kill everyone who looks happy because they're secretly mocking him is not fun to deal with." Naruto gaped at him, close to freaking out at the idea. "I'm serious, Naruto. There are versions of us that have snapped under the abuse the village heaped upon them. You _don't_ want to meet them."

The boy nodded mutely, profoundly disturbed by the idea. He swallowed noisily. "Anything else?

"Yeah, and this is important. What happens in one world may not happen in another, or it may have a different outcome. Just because a fight went my way in my own reality doesn't mean it'll work out the same for you."

"So you can't tell me what this mission will be like?" Naruto asked, "even though you've been through it?"

"That's right. I'm afraid I can't offer you much advice in dealing with Kisame except that you're probably not strong enough to fight him on your own, or even with your entire team at this point."

"Who?"

"Kisame. Didn't he attack your team on the way here so he could kill Tazuna?"

"No. Some guy named Zabuza attacked us."

"The Mizukage?" He looked perplexed, but seeing the horrified look on Naruto's face, he shook his head. "Differences…. Differences. In my world, Zabuza led a successful rebellion against the former Mizukage…Yagu-something-or-other, two years before I graduated from the academy. I've met him once or twice. He's actually a decent person, but if you're facing him now, as shinobi with opposing goals? That is trouble." He thought a moment. "I would suggest summoning someone who has fought him and won. Even if he can't fight by your side, he can probably give you some tips."

"Can't help out in the fight?"

"Not without explaining the scroll to Kakashi and your teammates. It really would be best to keep it secret. Word'll get back to the Hokage and the scroll will start getting passed around regardless of what you want, and I really don't feel like being interrogated."

"You were interrogated?"

"The village council in one world got it into their heads that I could tell them their future, because I was older than their version of me. It was like pulling teeth to convince them there were too many differences between our worlds for my information to be useful. Last I heard, they took the scroll from Naruto and started signing it themselves." He grimaced. "I keep expecting the multiverse to implode."

"Multiple versions of the village council?" Naruto shuddered. He had had encounters with the Hokage's advisors. None of them were pleasant.

"You'll see more disturbing things," his counterpart chuckled, "guaranteed. The first time you are summoned is a really weird experience."

"Wait," Naruto blinked, his racing thoughts screeching to a halt. "I could get summoned!? I'm the summoner!"

His counterpart looked at him levelly. "As am I. Unlike most summoning contracts, this one is a two way street. You can be summoned by another, just as you summoned me."

"But doesn't that get annoying? Being interrupted in the middle of whatever you're doing?" He seemed to realize something. "What am I keeping you from?"

"Nothing," the other shrugged. "I'm not really here. You are familiar with the Shadow Clone jutsu?"

"Yeah! My best technique," the younger Naruto bragged.

"It's kind of like that. The real me is still back in my Konoha going about his business."

"So you're a shadow clone?"

"Hmm," the summons thought for a moment. "I'm more durable than that. Maito Gai once kicked me through a wall because he thought I was impersonating his world's Naruto to infiltrate the village. That wasn't enough to dispel me, but it can be done." He shrugged. "Or I can leave whenever I want. And, just like a shadow clone, the original me will get my memories of whatever I did."

"Memories? What are you talkin' about?"

"My memories of what I've done. The original me gets them."

"How would he get your memories?"

"Sorry," the other said. "I keep forgetting, you taught yourself to read, so you missed some important bits of that scroll, just like I did." He considered, for a moment, the best way to explain, then got up. "Easier to show you. Make a shadow clone." Naruto did so and the older version gestured for it to follow him. When they were out of the original Naruto's range, he whispered a secret to the clone and told it to dispel.

"Well… That explains a lot," Naruto looked thoughtful when his counterpart returned. "About the clones and about Sasuke. No wonder he ignores Sakura and the rest of the girls stalking him." His counterpart snickered.

"I just made that up. I don't actually know that he's gay, not even in my world. You can see for yourself now how useful a training tool shadow clones can be, I trust."

"Definitely!" Naruto enthused. "I can make clones and have them study scrolls or practice techniques with me. I'll remember whatever they learn."

"Exactly." He glanced toward the rising sun. "The others should be up soon. You should probably head back before you're missed."


	4. Chapter 4

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Now that the secret is out, I can also thank all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story. If you recognize jutsus or plot points similar to a story you wrote, take it as a compliment.

CH.4

Naruto nodded and got ready to leave. "See you around." His counterpart nodded and vanished in a puff of smoke. Turning back toward the house, Naruto made his way to the front porch in time to meet Kakashi coming out.

"Where have you been?" the copy-nin asked.

"Getting some early morning training in, sensei," the blond prankster answered truthfully.

"Hmm," His teacher eyed him a bit suspiciously, but decided to take him at his word. "Alright, but stay close to the house. Zabuza and his friend are still out there, and he should be fully recovered any day now."

"Okay, sensei. Who is going to the bridge today?"

"Sasuke and I will be at the bridge today. I'll set you and Sakura to do some training before we leave." He led the way into the house for breakfast. "You missed a day of training running errands for Tsunami and Sakura needs to build up her reserves."

A whole day alone with Sakura-chan! "So Sasuke's mastered it?"

"No, he'll be getting some practical experience working on the bridge. You have to be able to divide your attention. Tree-walking needs to be second nature."

He shared this with his other students over breakfast before they headed for a clearing near the house to get started. It was at this point Naruto decided to put what he'd learned from his counterpart to use. "Kakashi-sensei, can I use my shadow clones in my training? To speed things up?"

The copy-nin raised his one visible eyebrow. "Speed things up?"

"Since I get my clones' memories when they dispel, I should be able to use them for training in jutsu, right?"

Kakashi thought about it a moment and then nodded. "Alright, Naruto, how many can you make?"

Naruto considered the question for a moment, thinking back to the last time he'd created a lot. "When I fought Mizuki-teme I made about 100, I think." Kakashi's eye widened in shock. He had known Naruto had deep reserves but that was a bit frightening. Even the average jonin struggled to make five at a time. "It wasn't really a strain. I can probably make a lot more."

"Maybe," Kakashi allowed, "but keep it to five for now, and remember to dispel them one at a time. Too many memories rushing in at once will give you a headache at best and brain damage at worst."

"Okay," Naruto agreed.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura asked. "How can clones help you train? I can make clones, but I never get any memories from them."

"You make basic clones, Sakura. Shadow clones are different. For one thing, they're solid, not simply illusions."

"If it can speed up training," Sasuke wanted to know, "why can't you teach us?"

"Because it's a chakra intensive technique. You might be able to make one, but you and the clone would be too exhausted to do any training." He glanced at Sakura. "At your current levels, attempting to make one might actually kill you." Sakura paled slightly. "When your reserves have reached the level of a typical jonin, I'll show you the technique, but even I don't train using shadow clones that way. Too exhausting."

He set Naruto and Sakura to training and watched for a few moments as she and six Narutos began running up and down trees. Satisfied, he nodded to Sasuke and they headed off to escort Tazuna to the bridge. Naruto waited for about half-an-hour and then created an extra clone and slipped away to do a different type of training.

Once he reached a clearing far enough from the house, he summoned a version of himself who had fought and defeated Zabuza. When the smoke cleared, he found himself looking at 15 year-old version of himself in a black and orange outfit. His counterpart grinned. "Hey there!"

"Hi. I've got trouble with a missing-nin I think you've fought."

"That's what I'm here for, but you'll need to be more specific," the other answered.

"Zabuza."

"Ah. Yeah, he's tough, but I can help you with him." He looked around. "Wave, right?"

"Yeah. Is this where you met him?"

"That's right. He has Haku with him? The fake hunter-nin?" Naruto nodded. "Okay. Let's get started. This is going to take a while."


	5. Chapter 5

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.5

"Why are we using a plan proposed by the dobe, again?" Sasuke asked.

"Because it makes sense," Kakashi told them as the group made their way to the bridge, keeping in a diamond formation around the bridge builder. "This stands the best chance of protecting our client and ending the threat posed by Zabuza and his friend."

"I'll believe that when I see it," Sakura sniffed.

Naruto glared at the Uchiha. "I didn't hear you having any ideas great or otherwise." The plan was in place, and his counterpart had helped him work out several contingencies if things went wrong and had drilled the whole plan into him. He went over it again in his head though, just to be sure.

"What about Tsunami?" Sakura asked. "What if Gato tries to grab her and Inari?"

"I got that covered," Naruto told her, confidently. "I left 20 shadow clones watching the place."

"Twenty times nothing is still nothing," Sasuke opined. Naruto ignored him. He had actually made many more than 20, but saw no reason to tell the others that. He stayed quiet, thinking about all that could go wrong with the plan and how best to counter each problem, just as his counterpart had suggested. The techniques they had covered were variations on those he had already mastered, so the jutsu themselves shouldn't be a problem. When they arrived on the bridge, he moved into position, just as he had planned with Kakashi-sensei. He created three shadow clones and positioned them to serve as extra eyes.

Shortly before noon, the mist began to roll in around the bridge. "Here we go," he muttered, creating and dispelling a shadow clone. He had learned from the second counterpart that he'd summoned, that he could create clones in such a way that not only did he get the clone's memories, but the rest of his extant clones did as well. This allowed for rapid and silent communication between them.

Kakashi noticed what Naruto had done, but didn't comment. There was more important work to do. He snapped out orders, and his genin moved into position, just as planned. When the mist had enveloped them, he raised his headband, revealing an active sharingan. He couldn't see much better with it, but any improvement was desirable at the moment.

"You and your genin can walk away, Kakashi," Zabuza called, his voice seeming to come from everywhere. "Only the bridge builder has to die."

"We can't walk away any more than you can, Zabuza," Kakashi disagreed.

"Sure he can," Naruto called, "and he will, believe it."

"Naruto, stay in position and stick to the plan." He couldn't see his students, the fog was even making it hard to sense their chakra, but it sounded like Naruto was out of position and actually moving in on Zabuza.

"I am, sensei, I just left out a few details. Like this." Suddenly there were three large chakra flares at different points around the bridge. Kakashi realized that they came from the clones set as lookouts. Each pulse was accompanied by brief, near hurricane force, winds that shredded and dispersed the mist. Kakashi gaped at what he saw, as did Zabuza.

The former Kiri nin was surrounded by tigers. There were nearly 20. Most were watching Zabuza. One had Haku facedown with a large paw on the boy's neck. There were also several Narutos standing around. One of them stepped forward. "Now look, no one here wants to fight. I met Haku a few days ago, and I like him. Since you're important to him, I'd kinda like to end this without anyone getting hurt." He thought back briefly on his meeting with Haku the day after he finished work with his second summons. Haku was a peaceful boy at heart and didn't want to hurt anyone, but he would do anything for Zabuza. His talk of precious people giving him reason to carry on had struck a chord in the young Jinchuuriki. Zabuza interrupted his thoughts and Naruto reflected, probably broke Haku's heart.

"Haku is merely a tool with which I accomplish my goals, losing him would be inconvenient, but it does not alter my duty to the client." He flashed through a few hand seals, "and if you think your summons are a threat to me, think again." To one side of the bridge, a gigantic wave rose up, towering over the bridge as it grew closer.

"Guys," Naruto called to his clones. Three of them jumped to the nearside of the bridge and made rapid hand seals of their own. All three dispersed as their chakra was exhausted, and the jutsu took effect. The wind that had dispersed the mist was a mild breeze by comparison. The wave was not merely halted, it was obliterated. Naruto didn't have long to enjoy his success, however, as the wind began to howl around the bridge and air rushed in to fill the void he had created unintentionally.

When it had calmed, Kakashi turned to yell at his student, but found him rubbing the back of his head and looking very embarrassed. "I guess I kind of overdid it, huh?'

"A bit," Kakashi deadpanned.

"I was trying to make a point." He glanced at Zabuza who looked genuinely disturbed by what had just happened. Before he could say anything, however, Sakura found her voice.

"Overdid it?! You could have killed us! And it's probably raining in Konoha now!"

"Don't be absurd, Sakura," Kakashi answered, calmly. "Konoha is that way." He pointed over his shoulder. "It's raining in Kiri."

"Getting back to my point," Naruto cut in irritably. "No one wants to fight. As for Gato, well….." He turned to the near end of the bridge and whistled. Three clones approached, each one dragging a bound man. "These three work for Gato." He grasped one of them by the collar and pulled him up from the bridge where the clone had dumped the bound mercenary. "Tell everyone what you told my clones."

The man looked scared and kept silent. He was eyeing Zabuza with an expression close to terror.

Naruto sighed. "If you do, I promise I won't let anyone here hurt you. We'll let you go and you can get out of the country. If you don't," he shrugged. "Gato goes down anyway and you and your friends get turned over to the people of Wave so they can decide how to execute you." The man started talking.

"Gato told us to watch the fight and let him know when it was over. He wanted to wait till the survivors were too exhausted to fight back and then kill everyone on the bridge."

"So, he had no intention of paying us," Zabuza stated. The man nodded. The missing-nin replaced Kubikiribocho on his back. "We're leaving, Haku. There is no longer any reason to fight." The tiger pinning Haku backed away, but growled when the boy reached for the senbon he'd dropped when he was knocked down. He left then lying on the bridge.

The two jumped down to the ocean surface and began to run toward the Land of Fire. Team Seven watched them go. "You're gonna have to teach us that, sensei," Naruto looked at Kakashi.

"It's the next step after tree-walking," the jonin assured them.


	6. Chapter 6

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.6

"Incidentally, where did you learn that wind jutsu? I didn't teach it to you."

"I saw something like it done once and I kind of figured it out."

Kakashi eyed his student dubiously, but let it go. Naruto had, after all, learned the Shadow Clone jutsu in a couple of hours. "I take it this is why you asked all those questions about summoning contracts?" He gestured to the tigers who were still sitting around watching them.

"Yeah."

"Where did you get something so powerful, dobe?" Sasuke demanded.

"I saved a merchant from a bunch of Gato's thugs. He was on his way to sell the scroll to Gato, but the jerk decided to have his men steal it instead. Sato-san was happy I came along when I did and gave it to me to say 'thank you'."

"Where did this merchant get it?" Kakashi asked, a bit suspicious. A mere merchant in possession of a tiger summoning contract? Something seemed a bit off about that.

Naruto shrugged. "Used to belong to some missing-nin who settled down in the village Sato-san got it from. When the guy died, the town sold off his stuff since he didn't have any family. Sato-san got it for a song, he said."

Kakashi shook his head at the sheer blind luck his student had. "Looks like you lucked out, Naruto. Those are some impressive summons. We should see to Gato's mercenaries. They'll move in on us as soon as they learn Zabuza's left."

"Don't worry about it. I told a couple of tigers to sit on Gato."

"His men won't risk him," Kakashi nodded. "Another part of the plan you didn't tell me?"

"I thought you'd say 'no'," His student shrugged. "If it worked, no harm done; if not, the tigers can take care of themselves or leave if it gets too bad, and we get plenty of warning. The clones I have spying on Gato are still there. I'd know if something had gone wrong."

"Well planned, Naruto, but you should have told me all of this from the start. You will share your plans with me in the future, no matter how half-baked you think they sound. Understood?"

"Yes, sensei."

"Then let's go see Gato." He led the way once Naruto told him where the little millionaire was being detained. They were halfway there when one of the clones watching Gato popped.

"Sensei? We have a problem." Kakashi looked at him questioningly. "Gato's dead and his men are pretty angry."

"Right," Kakashi sighed. "Let's go." They picked up the pace, and Naruto's tigers, actually transformed clones, but no one needed to know that, moved in to restore order and act as herders. They soon had the mercenaries under control without too much mauling.

"Where's Gato?" Sakura wondered, looking around.

"Over there," Naruto pointed. There were two tigers standing over a small man lying on the ground. Kakashi examined the body.

"He looks like he suffocated." He glanced at the tigers. He'd been expecting to see claw marks.

"Guys," Naruto sighed, after reexamining his clone's memories, "when I told you to sit on Gato, I meant keep him under control I didn't mean for you to actually sit on him!" Kakashi suppressed a groan and Sakura and Sasuke traded disbelieving looks, the latter reconsidering his plan to demand the scroll from Naruto. The tigers suddenly seemed less desirable.

_What's done is done_, the jonin thought, deciding to move on. Kakashi spoke briefly to the mercenaries, offering them the same chance to flee the country that Naruto had given their three comrades at the bridge. Some were receptive. Others believed there were enough of them to kill the shinobi and avenge their boss, before taking the island for themselves. The more reasonable of the thugs began to pull away from this group. Kakashi got ready for a fight.

"Idiots!" Tazuna shouted at the mercenaries before taking a swig from his jug. He strode in among them. "You can't do that, and I'll tell you why."

"You do that old man," one of them held a knife to the bridge builder's throat. "What are your last words?"

Tazuna smiled as Team Seven dove for cover. "BOOM!" The disguised clone exploded with enough force to kill any mercenaries within eight feet of him, wound any within twenty feet and simply knock down anyone else foolish enough to be standing in the clearing.

Kakashi emerged from cover to survey the carnage before him with satisfaction. Most of the mercenaries who had been intent on killing Team Seven and looting Wave were dead or dying. The survivors were getting up, and more anxious than ever to leave the country. It didn't take long to get the location of Gato's headquarters and various properties, where much of the man's wealth was likely stored. They then headed back to Tazuna's house, and Kakashi raised a topic that had been on his mind since 'Tazuna' went boom.

"Tell me about the exploding clone. Another jutsu you witnessed?" Kakashi asked, the unspoken warning not to lie was clear in his tone. He was skeptical about Naruto's claim to have learned a variation on the Great Breakthrough technique after simply seeing it done.

Naruto looked confused for a moment, then, he just looked annoyed. "Nah, I figured it out. It's sort of like the way those clones on the bridge put everything they had into that wind jutsu. There was a lot on that scroll with the Shadow Clone jutsu that I had trouble understanding, so I just had to figure it out as I went along. I musta got a few things wrong. The way you act now, I'm guessing they aren't supposed to be able to do that."

"No," Kakashi shook his head. "They're not." He thought back to the scroll from which he'd learned the jutsu. "I don't see how you got that out of the instructions on the scroll though, even if you didn't get some of the concepts."

"Well…" Naruto trailed off looking embarrassed and Sasuke and Sakura waited impatiently for him to continue. "It wasn't exactly the concepts…"

"Meaning?" Kakashi prompted.

His shoulders slumped and Naruto sighed. "I taught myself to read, okay? It's kind of a work-in-progress."

"You can't read?" Sakura asked, stunned.

"Of course I can read," Naruto answered. "I know all the basic kanji and I can get through any of the academy texts, but the forbidden scroll had some things on it I'd never seen before. So, I had to guess based on what was around those words."

"How is it the academy teachers allowed that?" Kakashi wondered, not letting himself think about all that could go wrong in trying to figure out important sections of a jutsu scroll by context.

"Sensei?" Sakura ventured, feeling uncomfortable for a reason she couldn't put her finger on, after all, it wasn't her that couldn't read. "Most of the sensei at the Academy pretty much ignored Naruto unless he was causing trouble. I only ever saw Iruka-sensei help him with anything."

Kakashi frowned, resolving to look into it when they got back.

OOOOOOOOOO

The rest of their time in Wave was peaceful. The bridge was completed without further delay and Team Seven was able to return home. The journey back was much more peaceful. Sakura noted that Naruto kept the scroll closely guarded. Sasuke, however, wasn't thinking about that. He seemed to be brooding over something else. Kakashi noticed.

"Something wrong, Sasuke?"

"Hn."

"Don't grunt at me. Answer the question." The boy's attitude could become a problem, the jonin realized. Best to try to gently adjust it early on.

"I was hoping to awaken my sharingan on this mission."

"Ah. Two powerful enemy shinobi, a small army of mercenaries and you barely had to lift a finger. Makes it hard to activate your bloodline." Kakashi nodded. "Frustrating, but don't be concerned. You'll have plenty of opportunities."

Sasuke nodded, still brooding, and silently fuming over what had happened. The dobe had shown him up. Naurto of all people had lucked into a powerful summoning scroll and his idiotic mistakes in learning the Shadow Clone jutsu had actually made him stronger instead of killing him. _Fate must love fools_, he thought bitterly. In a rare display of self-control, he kept his thoughts on the matter to himself, resolving to redouble his training. _I will not let that idiot outdo me_.

"Sensei? How is the Sharingan awakened?" Sakura asked.

"The person has to have their life put at risk," Kakashi answered. "Normally, a situation like that would produce more than enough stress to awaken the sharingan, but Naruto's actions prevented that."

"I thought that wind storm he caused would have done it," Sakura glared briefly at her blond teammate.

"I just used my chakra to anchor me to the bridge," Sasuke shrugged, then glanced at Sakura. "Don't tell me you actually grabbed a piling and held on?"

Sakura blushed. "No, of course not, but the way the bridge groaned at one point I wondered if it was going to hold."

"Sorry," Naruto said sarcastically. "Next time, I'll let the wave hit."

"Might've been safer," the pink-haired girl scoffed.

"Enough, you two," Kakashi said tiredly. "Naruto acted properly, even if he overdid it a bit."

"A bit?"

"Sakura," the jonin's tone warned her to drop it.

"Yes, sensei." She fell silent, much to everyone's relief.


	7. Chapter 7

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.7

"An interesting mission," the Hokage commented looking up from Kakashi's report. He had called them in to ask questions and learn if there was anything not in the official report. Kakashi hated writing reports and, while a thorough professional, details were sometimes lacking.

"That's putting it mildly," Kakashi muttered.

"Your squad performed well overall?"

"A few minor problems, but yes, they did well overall. Naruto's improvisations came as a surprise, but they worked." He glanced at his blond student. "I've already spoken to him about sharing his plans."

"Good," the Hokage nodded. "I did find your mention of the summoning scroll interesting. "I've never heard of a tiger summons before." He looked at Naruto. "May I see it?"

Naruto hesitated. "Um, the tigers told me they're kind of particular about that. They said I should guard the scroll closely and keep it as much of a secret as I can."

The Hokage regarded him with some surprise, not expecting the boy to refuse. "Understandable. Most clans are secretive about such things."

"They've… um…had some bad experiences with summoners they didn't approve of."

"Indeed? You said the merchant got it from a missing-nin?"

"More or less. I was told the scroll was once signed by a homicidal maniac. They're kind of leery."

Everyone was staring at him now. "Understandable, indeed," the old man nodded. "Very well, no further mention of it will be made. Perhaps in time they will come to see Konoha shinobi as worthy allies. That will be up to you, Naruto. A big responsibility."

"Trusted to a clanless dobe," Sasuke muttered, earning him a reproachful look from the old man. Naruto, however, ignored the comment.

"I'll do my best," Naruto assured him. He was just happy to have the matter behind them. If the old man had pressed, he wasn't sure what he would have done. He stayed quiet until they were dismissed.

Kakashi gave them the rest of the day off and left to do whatever he did in his free time, and Naruto headed for one of the remote training grounds to work on the techniques he'd learned. The tricks his counterpart had shown him had so much potential. His Transformation and Shadow Clone technique could be so much more. The Exploding Clone was a neat trick, and transforming into animals was lots of fun. He had never considered using the Transformation that way. He hadn't even been aware that his version of the technique was different. His Transformations were solid, not illusion like the ones the academy taught.

He created five shadow clones and set them to work. It had taken time to learn to move gracefully as a tiger and was very glad he hadn't had to fight as one. That wouldn't always be the case, though. He set five tigers to practicing basic things like running and jumping. He created four more and set them to sparring as tigers.

It was a good start, but he needed to vastly expand his arsenal. His counterpart had told him that it was possible to turn into birds, but that he was still working on landings. He had advised Naruto to first study the anatomy of the creature he wanted to become. That would make the learning process easier. Naruto created two more clones, and the three of them went hunting in the nearby forest.

OOOOOOOOOO

The village of Konoha began seeing Naruto in multiple locations, something that surprised the shinobi while confusing and alarming the civilians. He would be at two different training grounds while running multiple errands. The shopkeepers noticed that he also stopped coming into their shops for overpriced goods. They did not notice immediately, but over the weeks that followed his return from Wave, the handful of shops that were actually willing to sell him things mentioned that 'the demon brat' hadn't been in recently. It cut into their profits as they always doubled or tripled the price when they saw him coming.

There were a series of untraceable pranks against those same merchants. They ranged from childish tricks like glue on chairs to the well hidden seals that had a variety of unpleasant effects. Even though there was no hard evidence, the merchants were sure Naruto was behind it. This was, inevitably, brought to village council. A demand for hard evidence on the part of the Hokage soon brought an end to the matter.

It made the old man curious, though. Naruto had never used seals in his pranks before, and to his knowledge, Kakashi hadn't taught them more than the basics of recognizing seal types. That, in itself, worried him a bit, but it was a concern for another day.

He brought his viewing ball out of his desk and made the hand seals for the jutsu to activate it. He watched Naruto and one of his clones drawing seals on small squares of paper. A closer look revealed that they were storage seals. These storage seals, though, had some interesting modifications. He channeled more chakra through the jutsu so he could hear as well.

"Storage seals are really underrated," one of them, Saratobi couldn't tell which was real and which was clone, was saying as he applied the last brushstroke. "They can store anything; weapons, food, water, poison gas, you name it. They can be set to release under a variety of conditions, too."

"Like the seal I painted on the underside of the grocer's doormat? The one with all the sewer gas stored in it?"

"Right. Anytime someone steps on that mat, it releases a small cloud. That'll teach him to be so choosy about his customers." The Hokage couldn't help but chuckle. It was actually a clever idea. "All it takes is a basic understanding of sealing and a little imagination. There's a way to combine an explosive tag with a storage seal, I'm sure of it. Just need to work out the details and there'll be a new type of trap no one will see coming. If done right, the explosion will send whatever the storage seal releases flying. Senbon, kunai, big freakin' rocks, you name it."

"Sounds great!"

"Thing to remember about seals is that experimenting can be dangerous. If trying something new, best to let a shadow clone do the work."

"That so-" Naruto broke off and frowned. "Uh-oh. Someone just tripped the alarm at home. Something's up."


	8. Chapter 8

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.8

Sakura was curious. Naruto hadn't asked her out in a while. She counted that as a good thing, but she was still curious. Not only had he stopped pestering her to have ramen with him, but he had been acting, for him, really strangely. He would show up on time at their usual spot by the bridge, and rather than complain about their sensei's perpetual tardiness, he would start training. He would work to improve his aim with kunai and shuriken, practice taijutsu forms she had never seen before, and perform chakra control exercises, usually all at the same time.

Something had changed about her teammate and she was determined to find out what. She entered his apartment, barely managing to avoid the traps he set, and started her search. It didn't take long to find the only thing that she was certain was new in his life: the tiger summoning scroll.

Curious, she unrolled it and started to read. Her eyes bugged out at what she found. _This is not possible._ What the scroll described was absurd. She definitely needed to know more about this, but she couldn't study it in Naruto's apartment. Putting it back in the box, she tucked it under one arm and left quickly, missing a returning Naruto by less than a minute.

When she got home, she went straight to her room and locked the door. Her parents were still at work and she knew she'd have almost two hours before they got back. Taking out the scroll, she read it through. It explained a lot. She thought back to an incident the previous week when she'd come across Naruto sparring with one of his shadow clones.

OOOOOOOOOO

FIVE DAYS EARLIER

Sakura heard the sounds of a fight and moved quietly through the woods to get a better look. Maybe she'd get lucky and catch Sasuke proving how awesome he was by humiliating someone in a sparring match. What she found, however, was disappointing. It was just that idiot Naruto fighting one of his clones. As she watched, the two traded blows briefly, before the clone pulled a neat combo that landed her teammate flat on his back.

There were some differences between them. The clone, she noted, was a few inches taller and was dressed differently, wearing gray trousers, a muted green shirt and knee-length black coat. While the original was getting up, the clone turned to the spot she was hiding. "Come on out, Sakura."

He looked to her hiding spot till she walked into the clearing. "Hello Naruto."

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" The real Naruto bounced to his feet, grinning. The clone glanced at him and rolled his eyes.

"What are you doing, Naruto?"

"Sparring."

"And why is your clone dressed better than you?"

"We're practicing maintaining several jutsu at once," the clone answered. "You wouldn't want a Transformation to slip in the middle of a fight, after all."

"And I'm doing chakra control exercises," the real one chimed in. He turned and raised his right arm to show he was using his chakra to hold several leaves in place at his wrist, elbow and shoulder.

"Leaf exercise," she nodded. "Okay, but why there?"

Naruto shrugged. "Why the forehead? How often do you channel chakra for a jutsu there? The Hyuuga clan techniques require them to pump out chakra from multiple points on their bodies at once. I figured there's something to it."

The clone nodded in agreement, then called out. "Isn't that right, Hinata?"

There was a startled 'eep' from a clump of bushes on the other side of the clearing.

OOOOOOOOOO

It hadn't struck her at the time. The possibility hadn't even occurred to her, but the 'clone' was more mature than the 'original,' as well and stronger and more skilled. The clone wasn't a clone.

She reread the summoning contract. Why should the dobe have something like this? Sasuke-kun was far more deserving of the power it offered. He was an Uchiha after all, and he'd need someone strong to help him rebuild his clan. She frowned at that thought, knowing that being pretty and smart wasn't enough.

Sakura had come to a realization recently, watching Sasuke take note of Naruto's progress. Her crush only respected strength. If she wanted to win his heart, she would have to be strong enough to make him notice her. Discarding her initial half-formed plan to study the scroll and sneak it back to Naruto's apartment, she pricked her finger and signed it.

That she was stealing from a teammate didn't cross her mind. Her only thought in that direction was that she'd have to keep it hidden from everyone save Sasuke-kun from now on. If Naruto or someone with the brains to figure it out ever found out, they might search her home for it, suspecting people close to Naruto of taking it. _I'll find a hiding place later_, she thought and set the matter aside. Molding chakra for the jutsu, she concentrated on what she wanted and slapped the ground.

There was a puff of smoke and an older version of her appeared. Her counterpart regarded her curiously and then glanced at the contract on the table. "New summoner," she sighed.

"Well…yes. I just signed it."

Her counterpart looked over the scroll, noting the other names on it. "Did Naruto give it to you, or did you take it?"

"What does that matter? Like he deserves something like that," she nodded at the scroll.

Her counterpart regarded her coolly and Sakura wondered why any version of her would be offended by an insult to Naruto. "What has he done to so annoy you?" she asked finally.

Sakura was caught off guard by the question. "You know what he's like. He's loud, annoying, always pestering me for a date. AND he wears bright orange! Seriously, it's like he wants to get us all killed." She shook her head. "Glory hound has trouble with the most basic jutsu, but he's always going on about how awesome he is."

"Sounds like him," her counterpart nodded, with a fond smile. "He can be a lunkhead, but he's loyal to a fault. He acts the way he does, at least in my world he did, because everyone ignored him as a kid. And if they weren't ignoring him they were abusing him in some way." She raised a hand to forestall Sakura's words. "It isn't because of anything he did. It's…a family matter. I'd say you'll have to ask him, but when I was your age, he didn't know why people treated him like that. Your Naruto probably doesn't know either."

"So I should feel sorry for him or something?" Sakura scoffed.

Her older counterpart shook her head. "That's up to you." She glanced at the scroll. "You've got the basics down, I suspect. Any questions about the scroll itself?"

"Can't think of any at the moment. Its greatest value seems to be as a training aid. I can just concentrate on what I want; seal master, taijutsu specialist, etc."

"That's right. You should keep in mind though, that each world is different. Asking about your future is not only pointless, it can be dangerous. Things don't always unfold the same way."

"What was different in your world? What did you specialize in? I mean, I'm okay in taijutsu and I've got tree and water-walking down, but Kakashi-sensei seems reluctant to show us anything more advanced."

"Kakashi isn't a teacher," the older Sakura sneered. "He never wanted a team. He was just the best one to train Sasuke as he has a Sharingan." She looked momentarily angry. "I think he considered Naruto and me nothing more than tools to egg him on; Naruto as competition and me as a prize!"

Sakura gaped at her counterpart. "T-that can't be right! H-he-"

"That's the way it was in my world," the older version sighed in frustration. "In your world, Kakashi may be a great teacher and Sasuke may actually be as wonderful as I always thought he was." She considered a moment. "Has he shown you your elemental affinity yet?"

"No. What's that?"

The other rolled her eyes, deciding that the Kakashi in this world must be just the same. "In a bit. Has he taught you any genjutsu? If you're like me, you've got a talent for it."

"No."

"Has he taught you anything beyond tree and water walking? Or done more anything more than drill you in the academy taijutsu?"

"No," Sakura started to fume.

"Did he wait until the middle of a mission to teach you tree-walking?"

"Yes."

"If it hadn't been necessary to the success of the mission, do you think he would have?"

Sakura had to think about that. Given the questions her counterpart had asked and the nature of her own training to date, she really had to wonder. "I-I don't know." She frowned after a moment's thought. "Probably not. Sasuke has been the driving force behind our training. Kakashi's pretty good about explaining things when we ask him, though. Like when Naruto asked about using shadow clones to train."

"If he's anything like the Naruto I know, the knucklehead would have probably made a hundred clones and set to work tearing up the countryside trying to train."

"Kakashi told him he could only make five and told him why." She let out a sigh of frustration. "I suppose he could have just been limiting the damage."

"Maybe I'm being unfair," the older Sakura allowed with a casual shrug. "After all, he could be different from the Kakashi I know, but it's probably a good thing that you got your hands on the scroll. Now you can manage your own training." She grinned. "Let's start with a demonstration of your chakra control, shall we? Then we'll move on to your elemental affinity."


	9. Chapter 9

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.9

When Kakashi arrived for the morning training session, Naruto and Sasuke were sparring and Sakura was sitting under a tree reading a scroll. No one commented on his tardiness. Naruto and Sasuke, who seemed surprisingly even in terms of skill, barely noticed him. Sakura didn't even look up. He wandered over to her and read over her shoulder.

"Medical jutsu?" he asked curiously.

"Mm-hm," she nodded. "I overheard a couple of doctors from the hospital saying how hard it was to find people with perfect chakra control. Mine has always been very good, so I thought I'd look into it." The lie rolled off her tongue smoothly and Kakashi only shrugged. "You ready to get started with the day's D-rank mission?"

"We have a cat to track," Kakashi answered. "Already picked up the mission scroll." There was a collective groan from his students.

OOOOOOOOOO

Sakura tossed Sasuke across the clearing, surprising everyone including herself. "Huh, it worked." Sasuke climbed to his feet, glaring at her. Being beaten by Naruto was bad enough, but he would not lose to this useless, pitiful excuse for a kunoichi.

"Where did you learn that?" Kakashi asked, derailing Sasuke's plan to beat some manners into her by appearing between them.

"I saw an ANBU take down a thief using that," Sakura lied. "It looked pretty easy, so I practiced and thought I'd try it during our next spar." She smiled shyly at Sasuke. "I'm getting stronger don't you think, Sasuke-kun?"

Grinding his teeth, Sasuke swallowed his irritation. "Good move," he finally allowed. "Try that again." Kakashi stepped aside and watched them attack. Sasuke countered the grip and throw perfectly and went for a leg sweep. Sakura jumped over it and kicked at his head, but Sasuke rolled aside and kicked out with both feet, catching her in the gut. It was a solid hit, but not as effective as he had hoped. She jumped back just before the blow landed, a fraction of a second too slow to avoid the kick entirely. She did manage to grip his ankles, though and give a hard yank, causing him to land face-first in the dirt. Naruto roared with laughter and cheered loudly, "Go Sakura-chan!"

With a snarl, Sasuke twisted violently, wrenching his legs out of her grasp and springing to his feet. Then he went all out. Sakura was able to counter him at first, but, improved though it was, her taijutsu was still pathetic. Kakashi stopped the fight before he could seriously hurt her. Getting a grip on h is temper, Sasuke stepped back and gave the girl a small smile. "Not bad." As expected, she preened at the praise as he imagined grinding her face into the dirt under his foot.

"You both did well," Kakashi assured them. "Demonstrating a good understanding of form as well as the ability to improvise and think on your feet. I think it's time all three of you began learning the advanced forms."

OOOOOOOOOO

There was a mystery here, and Sasuke hated mysteries. Both of his teammates had grown unaccountably stronger. They had also grown secretive, sneaking off to train privately. Sakura hadn't stalked him at his training ground in almost three weeks. While this was a good thing, he was happy to be rid of her, he was also curious about the sudden change. He resolved to find out what was going on. If the two had simply decided to take their shinobi training seriously, so be it. If they had some secret, special technique that was speeding their development, he wanted it for himself. He needed to get stronger to avenge his clan.

OOOOOOOOOO

"I'm sorry, Naruto, but no progress has been made in finding the thief. I had ANBU search the homes of your teammates and sensei, but nothing was found. Aside from them, only Zabuza and his apprentice knew of it, and both are known to have been in Kusa when the scroll was stolen." The boy looked pensive, not an expression Sarutobi was used to seeing on the normally rash and reckless genin. He had changed a great deal since Wave, and the old man was left wondering at the sudden maturity and levelheadedness the boy displayed.

He thought back to the day, weeks ago, when the boy had come to him in a near panic.

OOOOOOOOOO

THREE WEEKS EARLIER

Sarutobi frowned. "Stolen? You're certain?"

"Yes. I know someone was in my apartment, and I searched it top to bottom. The scroll is gone, and it's the only thing missing."

"I will have ANBU conduct an investigation immediately." The boy had looked dubious, remembering occasions on which he and the mask-wearing shnobi had been at odds, and occasions on which they had stood by while the villagers mistreated him. "Rest assured, Naruto, this theft is a very serious matter. Allowing it to go unpunished would set a bad precedent. Whatever their opinion of you, the Village Council will want the thief caught and punished harshly to send a message to any who think they can steal clan secrets and techniques with impunity."

Naruto nodded, somewhat reassured. "Thanks, Jiji."


	10. Chapter 10

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.10

In the time since, Naruto and the ANBU, working separately, had turned the village upside down. "Naruto," the old man asked carefully, "is there anything I should know about that scroll? Anything the ANBU should be watching for that might help them find the thief?" Naruto looked even more uncomfortable, but sighed after a moment, obviously having come to a difficult decision.

"You have a summons too, right?" The old man nodded. "You know that each one is different and that some can be really touchy?" Sarutobi nodded again. "There are some rules that need to be followed with the scroll. Things that aren't written." He trailed off.

"Oh?" Sarutobi prompted gently.

"If they aren't careful in their summoning, bad things can happen. I mean really bad. Some of the summons aren't…well…sane."

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow, startled and a little alarmed. "Crazy tigers? Would they attack the summoner?"

"Maybe. Then they might turn on the village."

"Naruto," the Hokage said gravely, trying to keep his growing anger at the boy's foolishness out of his voice, "if there is a threat to the village, even a possibility of one, you need to tell me. Part of being Hokage is taking any such threat seriously. If that is truly your aspiration, you will set aside your personal desires and think of the people of Konoha first."

Naruto nodded. "I'm sorry. You're right, but I want to keep this as much a secret as we can." The Hokage nodded. "The tigers Kakashi and the others saw…weren't tigers. They were shadow clones under a Transformation jutsu."

"That couldn't have fooled a jonin," Sarutobi frowned. "Especially not Sharingan Kakashi."

"My Transformation jutsu is a bit different." Naruto made a hand seal and vanished in a puff of smoke. A tiger stood in his place. Curious, Sarutobi rose and circled his desk. Reaching out, he patted the tiger on the head and nearly jumped back. It wasn't an illusion. It was a literal transformation.

"How?" he asked, stunned. Naruto changed back so he could answer.

"I can't do jutsu that need just tiny drops of chakra. I train all the time, but I can still only dole it out by the bucket." He shrugged. "At first I didn't understand what the teachers wanted, they rarely told me anything directly. I thought for a while that that was how everyone did it."

The Hokage frowned in irritation, but set it aside. "What does the contract summon?"

"You're not going to believe this, but…"

Twenty minutes later, Naruto dismissed the summons he had called and the Hokage sat back in shock, barely able to believe what he had been told despite the evidence. "A powerful tool, indeed, and I can understand your…friend's concern. I will keep this knowledge away from the Council. It makes it all the more urgent, however, to find the thief. Such a tool, in the wrong hands, could be dangerous to this village in more ways than I can count."

"What do we do?"

"I will instruct the ANBU to look for infiltrators disguised as our own people. That will explain the urgency and the need for utmost secrecy. When they find two of someone, both will be brought to the Torture and Interrogation Department. Ibiki will get the truth out of them."

"Ibiki?"

"The head of Torture and Interrogation. He'll have to be made aware of the true nature of the situation, but I trust him completely."

"Okay," Naruto said doubtfully. "But keep in mind what the other me said. What happens in one universe may not happen in another."

"Understood, and I'll make sure Ibiki understands the limitations. For now, I need to get the ANBU searching." Naruto nodded, accepting that as a dismissal.

OOOOOOOOOO

The gray-haired old woman sitting under the tree watched Sakura move through the hand seals. "Concentrate on precision," she told the girl. "Speed will come with practice."

Sakura nodded and her hands slowed and steadied. After three attempts, she seemed to vanish and the world went strange. The old woman examined her surroundings, not the least disoriented or disturbed by the strange movement of the trees or the way the air seemed to shimmer.

"Not bad," she allowed. "Your concealment still needs work, though. I can follow your progress too easily." She turned to face her student as Sakura tried to sneak up on her.

"Damn," Sakura muttered, dropping the genjutsu.

"Tch. Language, dear. And don't be too concerned. It was a good effort."

"Language?" Sakura raised an eyebrow. "You're getting into character." The version of herself currently training Sakura had, some years previously, taken Yuhi Kurenai's spot as Konoha's genjutsu mistress. She knew the subject backward and forwards and was actually, a very good teacher.

"As should you, when in disguise. As Kakashi is fond of saying, a true shinobi looks underneath the underneath. If you give yourself away with your behavior, your appearance won't matter."

"That's true, I suppose." Sakura nodded thoughtfully.

"'Suppose?'" her counterpart asked, raising an eyebrow. "What conclusion would you draw if you saw Sasuke-kun making copies of himself and shouting about becoming the next Hokage?"

Sakura scowled. "That Naruto-baka needed a good beating."

"Precisely," the other chuckled. Sakura nodded in understanding. "I maintain this façade because you can't do the Shadow Clone jutsu. Two Sakura's being seen together would attract attention. Naruto is no doubt passing off his summons as just more shadow clones. I suspect he's reported the theft of the scroll by now; the Sandaime always was soft on the little demon."

"Demon?" Sakura asked curiously. "He's a pain, but that seems a bit harsh." Her counterpart looked at her in surprise. "What?"

"You mean to say, it is not common knowledge here?"

"Is what common knowledge?"

The other frowned for a moment, considering. "Sit down. There are some things you need to know, for your own safety."

OOOOOOOOOO

Sasuke listened with growing disbelief. The nature of the scroll was a shocking enough revelation, but that the dobe was actually a demon? He'd never have had a clue. One thing had become remarkably clear, though. He had to get that scroll for himself.


	11. Chapter 11

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.11

Naruto regarded the boy in what appeared to be a cat suit and make-up curiously. A Suna headband glittered on his forehead. He was angry and obnoxious to boot, apparently believing he was too good for rules or common courtesy. Reminded him a bit of Sasuke, actually. That courtesy had been a near foreign concept to him until recently was conveniently forgotten. "Put Konohamaru down," Naruto said coldly. "Now."

"The kid needs to learn some manners," the boy with the Suna headband growled.

"It was an accident," Naruto told him. "Are you sure you really want to assault the Hokage's grandson over this?"

"Let him go Kankuro." Naruto looked up at the ice-cold voice and saw a red-headed boy standing on a tree branch above Sasuke, watching them. Sasuke flinched, but didn't look around, trying to maintain the illusion that the other boy hadn't surprised him.

Kankuro quickly released Konohamaru and tried to stammer out an explanation.

"Shut up or I'll kill you," the redhead cut him off without inflection. Kankuro shut up. "I won't have you embarrassing Suna while we're here." He turned away and vanished, apparently uninterested in them.

"Who are you three?" Sasuke demanded of Kankuro and the blonde girl who'd been watching his antics with Konohamaru with a bored expression until the redhead had shown up.

"We're genin from Suna," she answered, "here for the Chunin Exam."

"Guess we'll see you there," Naruto gave her a friendly smile. "Try to keep out of trouble till then." He put a hand on Konohamaru's shoulder and they walked away. He had been warned about the likelihood of running into the Sand siblings and of Gaara's nature, so he had been working on techniques with just him in mind.

He had, of course, spoken to a number of versions of himself, learning new styles of taijutsu, new ninjutsu techniques, and secrets about his village history that he had, with careful use of shadow clones and Transformation, been able to confirm. He knew who his father was and why it was such a secret.

He knew some of the details of the Kyuubi's sealing. He had confirmed that both of his parents were dead. That still left him with unanswered questions, but ones he couldn't bring up, even with the Hokage, without the old man learning about everything else he'd been doing.

He had to be careful in verifying the information he got from his counterparts. He'd met one from a world where someone named Danzo had assassinated the Sandaime and taken over. That Naruto was at the forefront of a revolution against the assassin.

There was a Danzo in his Konoha, but the man was ancient, older than the Hokage, and he seemed more or less harmless, being crippled.

He spent quite a lot of time with a seal master he'd summoned. That one had left Konoha behind years before and founded a hidden village of his own in Wave. The seals he had learned so far were only variations of the basics. Exploding tags of varying strengths could be made easily enough and creating them to go off under very specific circumstances wasn't that hard. Storage seals had an almost endless number of uses.

The Hokage had somehow tumbled to some of his pranks using them and gotten him to share. Two of his variations had been declared A-rank techniques and were to be taught to ANBU. Naruto didn't know whether to feel honored or irritated.

He had also made some progress in tracking the thief. There was no direct proof, but he believed Sakura had taken the contract and hidden it somewhere. Her skills had grown surprisingly over the last three weeks, almost as if she were taking her training seriously. Naruto couldn't be sure that that wasn't what was happening. More telling, though, was that her attitude toward Sasuke had cooled, or at least she had become more cautious in her approach to him. Naruto didn't think either would be possible if she hadn't heard stories about him similar to the ones Naruto had heard.

In each case, it had been stressed that one Sasuke wasn't necessarily like another. There was no guarantee that the last Uchiha would run off to serve some crazy missing nin. Naruto couldn't help but be wary, though, and at the same time, had made a greater effort to be a friend to Sasuke. He couldn't help but wonder, though, if the versions of herself that Sakura summoned were as diligent in their warnings or even understood that the differences were important. Somehow, he doubted it. It wasn't because he doubted her intelligence, but most versions of Sakura, it seemed, had a blind spot for the brooding Uchiha. Besides, his luck wasn't that good.

While he'd been thinking, he had arrived at his team's usual meeting place. Sakura and Sasuke were already there, sparring. He settled in to watch them while he worked on his hand seals. His accuracy was near flawless, but he wasn't satisfied with the speed yet.

He watched Sasuke throw Sakura across the clearing without too much effort, but the girl rolled with the impact and was on her feet and ready before Sasuke could reach her. She met him with a flurry of strikes that he countered with barely any effort.

Sakura was getting better in general and could occasionally surprise him with unfamiliar moves, but she was still not in Sasuke's league. Naruto watched calmly as he ran through the hand seals for the Earth Flow River jutsu he was trying to learn. One of his counterparts had used it to great affect against Kiba during his Chunin Exam. He thought it might also work against Gaara.

Kakashi arrived his customary two hours late and greeted them with a lazy 'Yo!'. Sasuke and Sakura didn't even pause in their workout. Naruto glanced up but didn't stop practicing. "Huh," Kakashi grunted, slightly offended by their behavior. "I've got big news, you three. Gather 'round."

"Let me guess," Naruto spoke up, not rising, and continuing his practice. "The Fire Lord's wife's cat ran away. Oh…wait. That's not news." Just because he had been learning to show courtesy and respect didn't mean he had to do it, and some of the things he had learned about Kakashi made him disinclined to show his teacher any respect at all.

"Ah-hem," Kakashi tried to get their attention as the other two shot Naruto irritated glances. "I've authorized you three to participate in the Chunin Exam." He handed them each a form. "All you have to do is present these at the Academy where the first part is being held. Be there at 8:00 sharp, tomorrow. You have the day off to think about this. People die during this exam. If you don't feel up to it, then don't show up. We'll work out a way to up your training for the next one."

"I'm in," Sasuke said without hesitation, folding the form and putting it carefully in his pocket.

"Me too," Sakura nodded.

"Count me in," Naruto grinned excitedly. This, he knew, was the perfect chance to prove to the entire village what an awesome shinobi he was. Finally, he would get some respect. Talks with his counterparts had done a lot to change his perspective, but it hadn't changed his basic desire for acknowledgement and the respect of the villagers.

He was certain he could be Hokage if he worked hard enough, and becoming a chunin was the next step. When the three genin were dismissed, he went to a favorite, isolated training ground to get to work.

OOOOOOOOOO

Sasuke followed Sakura discreetly, hoping she would lead him to the contract. He watched her practice some basic earth jutsu with her summons, but there was no sign of the contract. He knew that once it was signed, the summoner didn't have to have the contract with them. But until he got a better idea of where she might have hidden it, he had no better alternative than to follow her.

For that day, it yielded nothing. He learned enough of her training methods and her skillset to rule her out as a serious threat during the exam, but he had already known that. Disgusted with his own bad luck and her pathetic attempts to train, he left her with her summons and headed to a different training ground to work on his own skills.

It didn't stop him trying to work out in his head where the scroll might be. He ruled out her house easily enough. Too obvious. After that, he thought about all the places he'd seen her. The training ground where they usually met was also too obvious as were most public areas where he'd seen her. Beyond that, he wasn't sure. He'd never bothered to learn much about Sakura. He knew her capabilities, he knew where she lived, and he knew that she was annoying, always asking him out. That didn't help much. It occurred to him that she might have hidden it some place she thought romantic; a place she might wish he would take her, but he had no idea where that might be.

There were several likely sites where they had performed D-rank missions, but he ruled most of them out as being too public. After a time, he concluded that he would simply have to keep watching her. He had also continued to be nice to her, giving her a bit of the attention she, for reasons that were unimportant to him, so desperately wanted. Perhaps, if she felt it would win him over, she would simply give him the scroll.


	12. Chapter 12

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.12

Naruto turned up at the Academy bright and early. There were already several people there, each apparently as impatient as he was. Kiba was waiting outside the door with his puppy, Akamaru, – both fidgeting and whining impatiently, although the door remained resolutely shut. Sasuke was also there, which didn't surprise Naruto in the least. All of them were anxious to get started. He nodded to his friends and looked around for the rest. He noted headbands from at least three different villages present – Suna, Kusa, Kumo, and two others he couldn't place, probably minor villages, he thought.

He had learned from his summons that each of the five great villages had lesser villages sheltering with them. Officially allies by treaty, but in reality, they were closer to protectorates since other villages would gobble them up otherwise to eliminate competition and expand their influence. The Hidden Grass village had been an ally of the Hidden Leaf since the First Great Shinobi War.

"Sakura better not be late," Sasuke muttered, interrupting Naruto's thoughts. He glanced around and saw the pink-haired girl approaching from down the road.

"Here she comes," Naruto pointed. None of them were actually late, so he didn't know what the Uchiha was grousing about. The doors hadn't even been opened. Both of his teammates had been acting strange of late. Sakura hadn't threatened violence in a while and seemed almost nervous around him. Sasuke kept giving him strange speculative looks.

Sakura smiled brightly at Sasuke when she joined them, but shot Naruto a nervous look. "Everyone ready to be chunin?" she asked brightly.

A genin from an unfamiliar village laughed out loud at that as he sized her up. Sakura bristled for a moment, but decided to ignore him.

Finally, at 8 o'clock sharp, the doors opened. Although everyone went in as a group,they were still forced to wait while each trio of genin was processed. Naruto grumbled about missing an hour of sleep for this and got a glare from Sasuke for it. The crowd finally thinned, and they got through. Walking up to the second floor, they found several teams arguing with a pair of chunin. Sasuke walked by them, ignoring the group. Naruto paused to stare at the wall they were arguing about. It was actually a pretty flimsy genjutsu, and it probably would have fooled him a few weeks ago.

"Come on, dobe," Sasuke called without turning around. "It's just a genjutsu. Are you too stupid to see that?"

That earned him glares from several people, including the chunin that had been set there to weed out those who couldn't spot the illusion. They caught up with three other Leaf genin at the end of the hall. An arrogant looking Hyuuga glared at Sasuke in annoyance. "You just increased the number of teams we will have to compete with by three. Well done." Sasuke gave him a standard issue grunt and continued on to the stairs, unconcerned.

Naruto gave the other Konoha genin an apologetic smile and followed Sasuke up the stairs. They found the room and waited while the rest trickled in. The wait was tense, relieved slightly by the interruption of another Leaf genin. Kabuto had taken the exam several times before, but he had failed each one. He did have useful information about the participants, though. He had managed to speak to one of his summons the previous night and had been ready for some of this. Kabuto, he had been told was someone to watch. He might not be trustworthy. His counterpart wouldn't elaborate, saying he had seen some pretty strange differences. Kabuto might be the most loyal and trustworthy person in Konoha for all he knew, although, he admitted, that seemed unlikely.

All conversation ended when a scarred jonin with a bandana tied around his head appeared and ordered them into the next room to take their seats. This, he realized, was Ibiki, the infamous head of the Torture and Interrogation Department. The man was every bit as frightening as he'd been led to believe. The spiel he gave to the chunin-hopefuls had many of them quaking in their seats. Naruto had known what to expect, but was still a bit shaken by the scars the man displayed.

He smiled encouragingly at Hinata, who was sitting next to him, and she smiled back shyly. More than one of his counterparts had suggested she was someone worth getting to know. When pressed, one of his older summons had revealed he had married the Hinata of his world.

Once he had finished trying to frighten them, Ibiki explained the rules and passed out the tests. "I'm getting Academy flashbacks," Naruto muttered, earning him a warning from Ibiki and a giggle from Hinata. He reviewed the questions and thought about the real purpose of the test. He was supposed to cheat, and if he was caught three times, his team would be thrown out. Some of his counterparts told him what they had done and advised against it. Deliberately swiping someone else's completed test sheet in full view of everyone could easily backfire even if it was only cheating once.

Finally, after some debate, he selected the best method. The night before the exam, a shadow clone under a Transformation had stolen the test. It had been caught almost immediately, but not before it had created a clone of its own while holding the test. That clone escaped with a Body Flicker. It had made several clones since then. While Ibiki knew that a shadow clone had tried to steal the test he didn't know who created it and he thought the theft had been prevented. Naruto glanced out the window and saw an ANBU sitting on the roof across the way. It gave him a thumbs' up and dispelled. A moment later he remembered reading the first two questions and memorizing the answers. He scribbled them down and waited for the next one. Several clones dispelled at two-minute intervals, giving him all the information he needed to answer the questions. The occasional call from one of the proctors disqualifying a team for getting caught was somewhat distracting, but Naruto knew that his method left no traces for them to find, literally.

The 10th question had been left as a surprise; there were only nine on the exam paper. Those he had asked just said 'Be yourself, and you'll be fine.' That seemed odd advice. Who else would he be? He understood when the 10th question was asked and he answered without hesitating.

"All right. I'll make this simple," the jonin proctor said coldly. "The 10th question is all or nothing. If you get it right, you pass. If you don't, you fail. Not only do you fail, but you give up the chance of becoming a chunin permanently. If you walk away now, though, you have the chance to try again. Make your decision carefully. You aren't just deciding for yourself, but for the rest of your team. If one gives up, the entire team leaves. Understood?"

Naruto thought about the question and the implications, while teams started dropping out. A shinobi had to be able to push through regardless of risk. The mission came first, but if the cost of failure was so high as to make it too dangerous to risk should a shinobi be prepared to abandon the mission? He rejected that line of thinking.

"Never!" he shouted. "If the risk is greater than the gain, find another way forward, but you DON'T, You DON'T, abandon the mission."

Across the room, hands that had begun to creep up went down. Ibiki glared at Naruto for a moment and then swept his gaze across the room. "Be sure of your choices. Screw up this 'mission' and you never get another chance to advance."

"And that's different from most missions above D-rank, how?" Naruto asked.

There were nods around the room.

"If no one else is going to wise up…" No one moved. "So be it," Ibiki snarled.

"All of you that stayed for the 10th question…pass."

There was a babble of confused questions, but he silenced them with a look. "You will all face challenges, missions where your own safety is secondary to achieving the goal. Most of you already have. Anyone who backs down from that risk needs to reconsider their career choice, and they're definitely not ready to be chunin."

Before he could say more, a window to his right shattered and two kunai trailing a banner thudded into place, one in the floor, the other in the ceiling announcing the arrival of Mitarashi Anko, the proctor for the second exam. Ibiki sighed in irritation.

Anko began to introduce herself but paused when she saw how many people were there. "You're slipping Ibiki. There are way too many."

"You're early," the man growled.

Anko ignored him in favor of directing them to Training Ground 44.


	13. Chapter 13

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.13

Training Ground 44, or the Forest of Death as it was also called, was full of traps, dangerous predatory animals, and poisonous, occasionally predatory, plants. According to Anko though, those weren't the biggest threats inside the forest.

"Your teams will be pitted against each other. Each of you will have one scroll." She held up two, one with the kanji for Earth and the other with the kanji for Heaven. "By the time you reach the tower at the center of the forest, you will need to have both. How you get the other scroll is up to you. Anything goes in this competition, but remember that every member of your team has to arrive alive and able to compete in the next stage of the exam."

"Place doesn't look so bad," Naruto smirked as he glanced at his teammates. He caught a movement out of the corner of his eye and tilted his head to the right so the kunai the apparently homicidal proctor had thrown at him sailed by without leaving a scratch on him. _If I hadn't been practicing dodging with that nutjob version of me that Tenten trained, that could have been ugly_.

"Pay attention!" Anko shouted. If she was surprised by the dodge, she didn't show it. "You can get dead by being arrogant. Stay alert at all times in the forest and maybe you won't die."

She distributed the scrolls. Each team took care in hiding which type they had received, before they each set off for a different gate. Naruto grinned at his teammates as they arrived at theirs. "This'll be a piece of cake. I've been sending clones into the forest for weeks to train, so I know the place pretty well. Let's get somewhere hidden and then we can talk strategy." The others nodded and the three were soon concealed in the upper branches of a tree a few hundred yards from the fence.

"As I see it," Sasuke started, "we have two options. We can head straight for the tower and set up an ambush for any team passing through, or we can work on getting a scroll first. I think the second option is best as any team that can make it to the tower is going to be pretty tough. While we could take them, why make things harder on ourselves?"

"Sounds good to me, Sasuke-kun," Sakura smiled brightly.

"Works for me," Naruto said easily. "We won't know ahead of time who has which scroll, but having an extra Earth scroll won't hurt us and we'll be eliminating competition."

Sasuke nodded. "My thoughts exactly. Let's see who we can find."

The three spread out, widening their search area as they moved through the forest. It was Sakura who spotted the first opportunity. A team from Kusa had been cornered and wiped out by a team from Kiri. They were picking over the remains like carrion birds, helping themselves to the scroll, supplies, and whatever else might prove useful when Sasuke launched a grand fireball into their midst. The team avoided it without too much trouble, dodging in three different directions, two of them straight into traps.

A thin wiry boy with black shoulder length hair in an ash-gray shirt and trousers found himself tangled in wires Sasuke had strung before launching his fireball. They wrapped tightly around the Mist-nin, cutting into him if he struggled.

The second Mist-nin, a muscular boy with spiky hair, landed on tree a few meters above the ground, his sharp eyes scanned for enemies. He never detected the exploding tags on the tree, hidden with a simple genjutsu. Not even the one he was standing on. The armor he wore saved his life, barely.

The last, a slender female armed with two swords managed to twist in the air and draw her blades, slicing through the net Naruto tried to snare her with. She landed on her feet, facing him. "Okay," Naruto admitted. "That was pretty cool." The Mist kunoichi glared at him without speaking before trying to take his head off. He ducked and rolled behind her, coming up in time to catch a descending blade between the eyes. He burst into smoke.

Realizing her enemy was a clone of some sort, she spun around in time to destroy another. Five more soon surrounded her. "You're good," he admitted. "How long can you keep that up, though?" All five charged at once. She leaped and twisted, neatly avoiding them and destroying two more in the process. The others pressed in but showed no interest in defending themselves. Within seconds, they had all been destroyed. She realized his plan too late. Each clone produced a cloud of smoke that added to the difficulty of locating the next attacker.

She didn't see the one that managed to yank away one of her swords. Acting to counter the tactic, she jumped clear of the smoke and found herself facing another copy of the blond boy. With all the speed she had worked so hard to develop, she decided to forego a slashing attack in favor of something she hoped he wouldn't expect. Curved blades are not designed for thrusting, but they could be used that way. The ninjato sank into his chest and when he did not disperse, she allowed herself a victorious smile. The boy returned it and grabbed her arm.

Broken out of her momentary surprise, she tried to pull free, but found her blade and her arm stuck fast. Twisting as best she was able, she kicked him in the head and found her foot stuck there.

"I'm a new invention," the clone explained. "Boss calls me a 'tar clone'. He yanked her arm drawing her against him and wrapping his other arm around her. Everywhere she made physical contact with him, she adhered to him. She soon found herself an unwilling and awkwardly carried prisoner, moving back into the clearing.

"I got mine," Naruto sang out.

"I got mine," Sakura looked up from where she was binding the wounded nin and stared.

Sasuke only grunted as he dumped his wire-bound captive on the ground. "Where are the scrolls?" The three were quickly searched and then relieved of the scrolls and their gear.

Sasuke looked at the three prisoners, including the one stuck to Naruto's bizarre clone. _That is just wrong_, he thought. The two would have looked like they were in the middle of something very private if not for the furious look on the girl's face.

"What should we do with them?" Sakura asked.

"Kill them," Sasuke stated succinctly, earning him a shocked look from Sakura and an angry glare from Naruto.

"I'll make some shadow clones and dump these three outside the forest," Naruto hastily offered an alternative. "Better luck next time," he told the three Mist genin as he made a Ram seal and conjured a group of clones.

OOOOOOOOOO

Naruto was annoyed with Sasuke. This was nothing new, but the reason surprised him. He was fully prepared to kill in defense of the village, even in defense of the civilians that had tormented him over the years. He would risk his life and take an enemy life without hesitation when the need arose, but the idea of killing when it wasn't necessary sickened him. The idea of killing helpless prisoners especially angered him. He said nothing of it, though, deciding it was best to keep the peace during the test, but decided to keep a closer eye on the Uchiha.

With two Earth scrolls and one Heaven scroll, they started for the tower at the center of the forest. All three kept a wary eye out for other teams, but Sasuke noticed that both his teammates were especially on edge. He put it down to their inferiority showing. They were scared. While caution was called for, he felt certain he could deal with anything the forest or the other teams could throw at him. The others, he knew, would be lost without him.


	14. Chapter 14

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.14

Sakura was worried. She'd been told to expect Orochimaru during the second phase of the exam, but there wasn't a lot she could do if he really did show up. Summoning another version of herself to fight him, even with a Transformation, would as good as reveal that she had stolen the scroll.

She had to do something, though. Her other selves had warned against letting Orochimaru put the curse mark on Sasuke. Most thought that that action was what had turned him against Konoha, the corruption caused by the curse mark breeding foulness and decay in his soul while preying on his insecurities and thirst for vengeance. One or two had suggested that Sasuke had been troubled even before that, but there were differences between the worlds. While she had promised to be more careful in her approach to him, she wouldn't believe that he was capable of some of the things that other Sasukes had supposedly done.

Shoving aside those thoughts, she focused on spotting Orochimaru or anyone else that might turn up. Naruto took point as they moved through the trees. Like Sakura, he knew what to watch out for, but unlike her, he had a plan for dealing with the snake sannin if he showed himself.

After traveling for just over two hours at the best speed they could while still maintaining an effective watch for enemies and natural hazards, the group paused for water and food. They found a spot they could defend and settled in for a quick meal. When lunch was over, Naruto announced he needed to answer the call of nature. While Sakura looked annoyed and disgusted, Sasuke suggested the use of a password, to which Naruto readily agreed, before warning him not to wander too far. Naruto nodded and moved off into the bushes.

Once out of sight, he performed two jutsu. First, he created some clones to keep watch and before the smoke had cleared, summoned the first version of himself he'd ever met, as per their arrangement. "Orochimaru?" the other asked even as he performed a quick Transformation to make himself look like just another clone.

"He's around here somewhere," Naruto whispered. The original put on a show in case he was being watched while his summons joined his clones in keeping watch.

When he rejoined the team, his clones fanned out to provide extra eyes. The summoned Naruto stayed close at hand but made sure that he was not the closest, as he wanted to blend in with the clones. They had barely resumed their journy when Sasuke was struck by a kunai in mid-leap.

The Uchiha managed to twist in mid-air and land on his feet on a tree roughly twenty feet off the ground, but a trickle of blood oozed from his thigh where the kunai had struck him, staining his white shorts red.

"Kukukuku! Well done!" The strange laughter seemed to come from all around them. The thre genin jumped into the trees and took up defensive positions, warily scanning their surroundings for the source of the attack. A shinobi wearing a Kusa headband appeared on a tree limb about 40 feet off the ground.

"Who are you?" Naruto demanded, although he already had a strong suspicion.

"Just someone who wants to test himself against the infamous Sharingan," the man answered. "You two may go." He gestured to Naruto and Sakura carelessly. Before either could answer they were both forced to dodge a pair of enormous snakes.

Sakura had to use everything she had learned over the past few weeks just to avoid the beast pursuing her. There was no opportunity to fight back. Naruto fared better, feeding the snake an exploding clone before moving to help her.

Sasuke was hard-pressed just to stay ahead of the strange shinobi's attacks. One thing became painfully obvious after the fifth nearly successful attempt on his life. This was no mere genin. As the fight wore on, he slowly realized that he was having an easier time matching his opponent's attacks. At first, he thought his enemy was simply slowing down as he tired; then he realized that the man's movements had simply become easier to follow. _The Sharingan_, he realized. _It's active,_ but he had little time to celebrate as his enemy, seeing the change in his eyes, had increased the speed of his attacks. The Kusa-nin seemed delighted at the latest development and wanted to see everything the famed bloodline could do.

Sasuke wasn't sure whether to be grateful or annoyed when a group of the dobe's shadow clones attacked the Kusa-nin. He barely seemed to notice them as he swatted them down like insects. Although Naruto's taijutsu had improved he was still no match for their current enemy. The clones simply came in a wave, not even trying to defend themselves. Sasuke recognized the tactic and allowed a smirk, even though he doubted it would work. The Kusa-nin also realized what the clones were doing and seemed more amused than worried as the cloud of smoke from the dispelled clones grew thick around him, at least until a solid strike landed, sending him flying into the trunk of the tree.

Sasuke took immediate advantage, throwing kunai guided by wires to wrap around and trap the enemy against the tree. The smoke cleared, revealing a Konoha ANBU operative, and Sasuke realized the man had disguised himself and blended in with the clones. As he walked towards their captive, his first words shocked the Uchiha. "Hello Orochimaru. Welcome home."

All trace of amusement vanished from their opponent's face. Orochimaru, Konoha's most notorious traitor, glared at the ANBU silently for a few seconds before dissolving into a pile of mud. Sasuke glanced at the ANBU in confusion.

"Mud clone," the man explained. "In case you haven't figured it out, Orochimaru is here for you. He probably wants your Sharingan."

"He wants to capture me," Sasuke nodded. Similar things had happened in the past. Kumo-nin especially, were obsessed with bloodlines. He re6called that they had tried to abduct the Hyuuga Clan heiress when she was just a baby. Given the numerous advantages that such bloodlines granted their users, it was no wonder that such users were coveted by every village.

"Or cut your eyes out," the ANBU nodded. "Either way, let's not make it easy." Naruto and Sakura joined them on the branch, having gotten rid of the last snake together. The pink-haired kunoichi had picked up a few scrapes and bruises, but was otherwise fine. Sasuke took in every detail of his teammates with his newly activated bloodline, amazed by what he could see and what he could deduce from what he saw. He didn't immediately recognize the significance of the tear in her dress just above her right hip, or what he could see beneath it, but he wasn't long in putting the pieces together. It would have to wait, though

The ANBU glanced at Naruto. "How many clones can you make?"

"A few hundred," the blond shrugged.

"Make 300 and split them into groups of three. Disguise two of each group as your teammates."

Naruto grinned. "I like the way you think." A moment later, after the smoke created by the jutsu cleared, there were 100 copies of Team Seven in the clearing along with the original. At an unspoken signal, all of them took off in different directions, the real Team Seven lost among them.

The summoned Naruto hid himself during the chaos and watched carefully for Orochimaru. It wasn't long before he spotted the infamous traitor and took off after him. He had picked a particular group to focus on and was gaining on them. He dodged the summoned Naruto's first few attacks, but in the process, lost track of the team he had been following. Cursing silently, he turned to face the troublesome and soon to be dead member of Konoha's special forces.

Orochimaru wasted no words, but went straight on the attack. Utilizing one of his signature techniques, he stretched his jaws wide in a manner no normal human could and summoned a large number of poisonous snakes. To most, it appeared that he was producing the vipers from within his own body, literally vomiting the snakes at his opponent. Many a hardened jonin had been unnerved by that technique. His current opponent didn't flinch, but that was to be expected of one of Konoha's elite.

The ANBU neatly avoided the attack and dispelled most of the summons with a wind technique Orochimaru was unfamiliar with. It sliced through the river of vipers as if they were paper streamers. He then directed the same technique at Orochimaru with no discernible pause between the end of the hand seals for the first technique and the beginning of the second.

The snake sannin saved himself with a quick Substitution jutsu before drawing his sword and attacking from above. The man moved with a speed that few not of Orochimaru's level could have followed, and the traitor barely brought his blade up in time to block the counter-attack. Doing so numbed his arm, and he was forced to retreat. _His speed and strength are impressive_, Orochimaru noted, raising his estimation of the threat the man posed.

The sannin leaped away to avoid a brace of shuriken rather than blocking them and had his caution justified when they exploded on impact with a tree. He had only caught a glimpse of etching on the shuriken, but had seen no reason to take chances, especially not with this opponent. An explosive seal etched into a thrown blade was not new, but it was not a tactic he saw often.

He created two mud clones and sent them to flank his opponent while he laid a trap, but both were dispelled within seconds. His clones had struck simultaneously, hoping to overwhelm him, but their target had exploded with impressive force, leaving the real Orochimaru to wonder where the real ANBU had gone.

He didn't have long to wonder, as he became aware of an incredibly bright ray of blue light shooting up past his face just before he became aware that he had lost all feeling below his chest. He fell from the branch he had stood on in two pieces, shocked by the sheer power of the technique, even as he activated the regeneration jutsu that he had experimented on so many Konoha citizens to learn.

Deciding there was nothing to gain by further conflict, he slipped away as soon as he finished shedding his old ruined body the way a snake would shed its skin. _What was that technique?! The scent of ozone indicates a lightning jutsu of some sort, but… what was that!?_

The summoned Naruto spent an hour looking for the traitor with no luck. Anko, Orochimaru's former student was looking for her teacher with murder clearly on her mind, and the summons decided to leave her to it, while he went after his summonner, admiring the chaos the boy had left in his wake. Four teams of clones had apparently ganged up on the team from Oto and wiped the floor with them, rescuing Team Ten and Rock Lee from Maito Gai's team in the process. "Is everyone here okay?" Shikamaru nodded, dusting himself off.

"We're fine," he answered. "Why are there ANBU in the forest? What's gone wrong with the test?"

"Long story. Which way did Team Seven go?"

"That way," each of the genin answered, pointing in a different direction.

"Of course," Naruto sighed. He should have seen that coming. "An S-rank missing-nin is in the forest. None of you are his target, but there is no reason to linger. Get to the tower at the center as quickly as possible, scroll or no scroll."

"Fortunately," Shikamaru said, "the Oto team had a couple of each." He tossed one he didn't need to Rock Lee.

Lee thanked him profusely before leaving to find his team. The summoned Naruto left as well, resuming his search. He passed but did not speak to the Suna team. The Gaara of this time period was still extremely dangerous to be around.

As he traveled, he saw evidence of other encounters. There was a very confused looking Inuzuka Kiba who, for some reason the summons decided he didn't want to know, was holding a melon of some sort at arm's length and eyeing it warily. He passed Hyuuga Hinata who looked equally confused and seemed to have acquired a permanent blush.

Several equally intriguing scenes were passed on the way to the tower, but he ignored them. He only needed one team or rather one Naruto that could pass a message to the original and found such a team just as Anko Mitarashi did. The tokobetsu jonin was advising them to leave the forest for their own safety.

"I don't believe that will be necessary, Mitarashi-san," he said, appearing next to them.

"Orochimaru is in the forest," she began.

"I know. I engaged him briefly, but he retreated. He's looking for the Uchiha boy, but he has little chance of finding him before he reaches the tower at this point."

"Why is that?" Anko asked skeptically. The summons nodded to 'Sasuke' who gave an uncharacteristic grin and vanished in a puff of smoke. Anko stared. The other two clones nodded to the ANBU and vanished as well.

"Uzumaki used his shadow clones to make multiple copies of his team and sent them off in different directions. Your former sensei will never find the real one in time."

"If you think that will deter him, you don't know Orochimaru."

"It will delay him. The village needs to be warned. I'll continue the hunt for the traitor. Get everyone organized."

"Right," she agreed reluctantly and headed for the edge of the forest. She would have preferred to kill Orochimaru herself, but the ANBU, Anko had to admit, had a better chance. Personal vengeance couldn't get in the way of duty. As long as the job got done, Anko told herself, she'd be happy. With that small justification in place, she headed for the fence to check on preparations. She had discovered a murdered team from Kusagakure two hours ago and sent word to the Hokage while she went in search of her former sensei. The ANBU she encountered must have been the closest at hand.

When she arrived, she found a team waiting for her, led by an ANBU in a cat mask. Anko gave them a thorough, concise report. The operative in charge nodded and instructed her to report to the Hokage, before he and the rest vanished into the forest.


	15. Chapter 15

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.15

Team Seven arrived at the tower with no further complications. "Orochimaru-teme must have followed the wrong Team Seven," Naruto smirked as they reached their goal and opened the scrolls as they'd been instructed. His teammates didn't comment.

The scrolls, once unrolled and laid across each other, produced a puff of smoke and Iruka-sensei. "Congratulations Team Seven. Good work." He looked them over and saw they were basically uninjured aside from a few cuts and bruises. "You've passed the second stage of the Chunin Exam with an excellent time. It only gets harder from here, though."

"What comes next, sensei?" Naruto asked.

His former teacher smiled kindly. "You'll find out in three days. You made good time, but you aren't the first to arrive. You'll find rooms inside where you can rest and refresh yourselves. When the time limit on the second test runs out, you'll go to the central arena with the other passing teams. The third stage will be explained to you then."

"No hints?" Naruto pouted.

"Sorry. No. Now go get some rest. You'll need it."

"There are some problems, sensei," Sakura broke in, annoyed that her blond teammate was wasting time. She briefly summarized their run-in with Orochimaru. Iruka was alarmed and assured them he'd pass on their news and see what steps were already being taken.

OOOOOOOOOO

Orochimaru watched the ANBU scurrying about with carefully hidden anger. He had failed to place the curse seal on the last loyal Uchiha. The boy's teammates had been stronger than anticipated, and that ANBU operative had been a very unwelcome surprise. At the time, he couldn't figure out how the man could have known his identity, but after he had slipped away, he had encountered his former student, Anko, searching the forest for him. He had considered engaging her to see how much her skills had grown but detected more ANBU approaching from the edge of the forest. Training Ground 44 was becoming entirely too crowded.

Safely disguised and anonymous, he was able to watch the hornets' nest he'd stirred up. The village was being searched. Security at all conceivably important targets was being doubled. It was a minor inconvenience at best, but it was still irksome. His plans for the invasion of Konoha would proceed with only slight alterations. The Uchiha was a side project. The boy could be grabbed during the battle. For the moment, security was too tight, and he wouldn't risk his revenge for the Sharingan.

OOOOOOOOOO

The security at the tower was heavy, but they were focused more on people trying to get in. There were enough people searching for infiltrators already inside to make his mission difficult, but it was far from impossible for one with Uchiha Sasuke's skills. Getting by the lone ANBU he saw was the hardest part. Most of the guards were chunin, so he made it to his destination without difficulty. He listened carefully outside the door to be certain his target was asleep before disabling the simplistic trap she had set and entering her room.

She was fast asleep and in no danger of waking, especially after Sasuke applied a little pressure to the correct spot on her neck. She'd be out for hours. He pulled back the light blanket and pulled aside the fancy undergarments she wore to bed. Seriously, he wondered. Who was she trying to impress? As weak as she was, it was unlikely anyone would ever bother getting close enough to her to see them.

A few seconds of searching later he found the storage seal Sakura had had placed on her side. It was reasonably clever, he supposed, to put such a thing on yourself so you could keep a cache of weapons and supplies at hand. He wondered if it had been this world's Sakura's idea. It seemed unlikely.

Channeling chakra to his hand, he activated the seal. The scroll he'd been searching for appeared in a puff of smoke. Tucking it inside his shirt, he arranged her clothes as he'd found them and replaced the thin blanket. It was the work of a moment to reset the crude trap and leave the room just as he'd found it. It might be days or even weeks before Sakura discovered the scroll was missing.

Retreating to his room, he secured the door and began to read the scroll. It was everything Sakura had indicated. When he signed it, he would be able to summon other versions of himself, a notion he still found strange. He would be able to learn any jutsu, any clan secret that had been hidden from him. He would be able to summon a version of himself that knew how to defeat Itachi.

It would have to wait, though. ANBU were on the lookout for intruders. Another version of himself would certainly raise alarms as he didn't know the Shadow Clone jutsu. He would have time after things calmed down a bit. Taking a cue from Sakura, he painted a storage seal on the inside of a spare shirt and then packed that shirt away as he normally did. Sometimes, hiding something in plain sight was the best way to ensure no one noticed it.


	16. Chapter 16

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.16

The teams that had passed the second stage of the exam stood on the arena floor before the Hokage's box, looking up at the old man and waiting for the announcements. There were six teams. Naruto looked them over, thinking about what he knew of each. Team Eight consisted of Hinata, Kiba, and Shino. They were all from prominent clans and had had training from their families as well as their jonin instructors.

The same was true of Team Ten. Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino were all clan children. They would have no shortage of training for the next stage, he was sure. Team Nine, under Maito Gai, had Neji, Lee, and Tenten. Neji would get training from his uncle and Gai loved training more than anything. He'd train his team into the ground if given a free rein.

He knew very little of Kabuto and his team, but the silver haired genin was years older and had been through the Chunin Exam several times. They could well be the best prepared of the lot. At least, his teammates might be. When the Hokage asked if any of them had doubts or wished to withdraw, Kabuto pleaded infirmity, saying he'd been too badly beat up in the forest to continue.

The team from Suna could be a problem if for no other reason than they had Gaara. The crazy Jinchuriki would not be easy to deal with. He'd had a number of suggestions from his alternate selves, and had picked a strategy he hoped would work. He already had the scroll he would need and had learned the requisite jutsu. In fact, he had strategies for each of his potential opponents.

The Sound Team, which surprised him by showing up at all, was a virtual unknown. Naruto suspected that Orochimaru had found them after several teams of clones had overwhelmed them and taken their scrolls. The snake sage must have given them scrolls and sent them on their way. They were, according to two of the summons he spoke to, crucial to Orochimaru's plans. Unfortunately, even that summons didn't have more than a basic idea of their abilities.

Naruto had been warned about some of their weapons and talents by versions of himself that had faced the Sound genin in the finals, but only so much could be learned from one battle. He hoped the plans he had for countering them would be enough.

The Hokage explained the true reason behind the exams, and Naruto had to try not to roll his eyes. Kakashi had always told them that a true shinobi looks underneath the underneath. In this case, the first layer involved testing genin to see if they were ready to be chunin. The second layer involved forging political ties for the village. This was true enough, but it was the noises about friendships and comrades that made Naruto want to roll his eyes. Most of the Kages would knife each other in the back just for the exercise. Even purported allies carried bitter grudges.

The primary reason for the open chunin exams was for each village to see what the other had. It served two primary goals; Firstly, it was a deterrent, a warning, about what an enemy would face in the event of hostilities. It was also about advertising. During the final phase of the exams, the stands would be full of people with money. Powerful local and foreign lords, rich business men, and village leaders would be looking for the most successful village to take contracts. A poor showing at the exams meant lost revenue for the village. That would hurt everyone, and it would indicate weakness to the other Kages.

When the first match was announced, Naruto left the floor with the rest. He had heard several different versions of these fights from his summons, so he wasn't sure what to expect. There were several versions, he recalled, in which Sasuke had fought Yoroi Akado, one of Kabuto's teammates. The chakra drainer hadn't won in any of the realities he had heard tell of, and it didn't seem he would win in this one. Yoroi simple wasn't fast enough to beat the Uchiha boy. His chakra draining technique required him to get a good grip on an opponent to be really effective. After one taste of that trick, Sasuke didn't give the older boy another chance.

OOOOOOOOOO

Aburame Shino's match against Zaku Abumi of Hidden Sound was even shorter. The Sound genin had taken a severe beating at the hands of Naruto's clones and was slowed down considerably. Shino easily overwhelmed him with the insects he controlled. The Sound shinobi's implants were severely damaged when he tried to use them while they were clogged with bugs.

OOOOOOOOOO

Sakura and Ino both rushed to the arena floor, anxious to prove themselves to their crush. Sakura, though she'd begun to have reservations about Sasuke, still held out hope that he would be different. That he wouldn't be the traitor and murderer that the other Sakuras had warned her about.

When Hayate Gekko called the match, Ino rushed forward, straight into a mild genjutsu that caused her to see Sakura a few degrees to the right of her actual position. The pink-haired genin stuck out her foot and sent Ino sprawling.

The blond was on her feet again in an instant, shocked out of the genjutsu by her fall. She narrowed her eyes and came in more carefully. "So, you learned some genjutsu after all. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The Academy teachers thought that was the only thing you'd be good at."

Sakura didn't rise to the bait. After all, it was hardly professional to engage in petty bickering with an opponent.

"Guess Kakashi isn't such a lousy teacher after all. Either that or you're going behind his back to someone else." Sakura twitched in surprise at her rival's perceptiveness and Ino grinned.

Up in the stands, Kakashi discreetly uncovered his Sharingan eye. He had suspected that Sakura was getting help somewhere else, but he hadn't been all that concerned. It meant less work for him and more time to devote to Sasuke. His primary interest was doing right by the last Uchiha in order to pay the debt he owed to his lost teammate, Uchiha Obito, but that didn't mean he didn't care about the other students.

Naruto was the son of his own teacher. The young idiot showed some promise, but as he grew to know him, he saw less and less of his lost sensei in the boy, not more; the uncanny physical resemblance notwithstanding.

Sakura, he had at first dismissed as a waste of his time. She fawned over Sasuke in a revolting manner and spent more time trying to win his favor than train. That had changed recently, and she was beginning to show a bit of potential. It didn't change his focus, but he did wonder who the girl's teacher was. He really should take offense, he supposed, but to quote a colleague of his, doing so would be troublesome. It did, however, ease a little of the guilt he felt over his obvious neglect of her.

The Hokage too, took note of Ino's words and Sakura's guilty start. It could well be that he had found the thief Naruto was looking for. He made a mental note to arrange a conversation between the girl and Ibiki.

"Let's see if that training has done you any good," Ino sneered and threw a brace of shuriken before charging again, this time coming in with a low sweep intended to take her legs out from under her while she dealt with the projectiles. Sakura jumped and twisted in midair, avoiding most of the shuriken rather than blocking them. She tried to come down on Ino's leg but missed by inches and leaped again to avoid a kick aimed at her knee.

Ino was up and after her in a second, and the two engaged in a brief taijutsu spar which ended in Ino backpedaling to get away from her surprisingly skilled opponent. There was small opportunity for retreat, though. Sakura pressed her hard, knocking aside Ino's defenses easily and delivering a knockout punch to the side of her one-time friend's head.

"Winner, Haruno Sakura." There were a few cheers from the audience at the proctor's words and she headed for the viewing area, leaving Ino to the medics.

OOOOOOOOOO

Tenten eagerly rushed to the arena floor while Temari took her time, making it clear that she believed the match was a waste of her time. As they faced each other and waited for the match to begin, Temari didn't bother to engage in the exchange of insults and posturing that sometimes accompanied the matches. She knew the match was hers, having seem Tenten fight in the forest. Unless the girl had been hiding something, which seemed unlikely given the desperate fight she'd been engaged in, then the Konoha girl was no threat to her.

She was more worried about whoever had made all of those shadow clones. At first, none of her team had understood what they were seeing. They had encountered the same team three times, and each one had delivered some unpleasant surprises. Each member of those teams, however, had turned out to be a shadow clone which frustrated Gaara to no end as he didn't get the blood he craved.

Tenten threw her first barrage of weapons, which Temari casually blew away with her fan. The second and third volleys met with a similar lack of success. The counterattack missed, though.

She was fast, Temari admitted, as she was forced to pick up her game in order to land a strike. Her wind blades kept missing their mark, sometimes only by inches. She needed to get her closer, draw the enemy in to a point where she couldn't dodge.

OOOOOOOOO

Tenten, realizing that her normal form of attack wouldn't work, launched her ultimate attack, the Rising Twin Dragons; sending a rain of weapons down on her opponent from all directions. On this occasion, however, her ultimate attack was merely a diversion. She had to get inside the Suna genin's wind defense. She had to engage in taijutsu. Most long-range fighters were weak at close-range combat, and Tenten hoped that Temari of the Desert was no exception.

While Temari concentrated on her wind jutsu, Tenten moved quickly to close the distance with a pair of kunai she hand held onto from the scrolls. It should have been a quick victory. Her opponent was entirely focused on the incoming weapons. At the last second though, she turned, closing her fan and blocking Tenten's strike with enough force to knock one of the kunai out of her hand. She sidestepped the other and struck Tenten in the head with the closed fan, driving her back several steps. With a quick motion of her wrist, as she took a step back herself, she opened the fan to reveal one moon and unleashed a powerful gust of wind at point-blank range.

The last thought to pass through Tenten's mind before she slammed into the arena wall and lost consciousness was that it had been too easy. She should have known closing with the wind user was too easy.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Nara Shikamaru versus Kin Tsuchi," the proctor called before getting out of the way. The Sound genin made the first move, drawing senbon from her equipment pack and throwing them, some at Shikamaru and some around him, forming a web.

Shikamaru dodged most of the senbon thrown at him and deflected others, using as little energy as possible. He listened to her boasting about her technique, mining her words for any useful information as he moved in, driving her back with his shadow, making half-hearted attempts to ensnare her and forcing her to begin again.

Finally, he allowed her to trap him after formulating a strategy. The bells on the senbon started making a disorienting, painful sound when she vibrated the wires she used to guide them, and trap her opponents.

The wires also provided a perfect conduit for his shadow possession jutsu. She never noticed his shadow as it stretches along the shadow of one of her wires until she suddenly found herself unable to move.

"Shadow possession jutsu, successful," Shika said in a bored tone. He considered throwing a kunai at her, but decided it was too much trouble. She was just where she needed to be. He tested his control, forcing her to mimic his actions. Kin caught on quickly.

"So everything you do, I have to do? How is that going to help without an ally to take advantage? If you draw a kunai, so will I, but stabbing yourself to take me out isn't something you'd be willing to do, you lazy, weak-willed bastard."

"A shinobi should always be aware of their surroundings," he answered. "You're right where I need you to be." With that he bent backward quickly. The sound of Kin's head striking the wall could be heard in the stadium's cheap seats. He released the jutsu and allowed her body to drop to the ground, unconscious. "Who's hearing bells now?"

OOOOOOOOOO

"Uzumaki Naruto versus Gaara of the Sand," the proctor announced.

Sarutobi leaned forward slightly. He had debated with himself over this match. As all Kages did, Sarutobi had claimed the 'home field advantage' and rigged the selection process in order to show his own people off to their best advantage. Each match had been carefully considered.

Some, like the one between the Yamanaka heiress and the Haruno girl had been too close to call and frankly, neither was ready to advance. Tenten had needed to be placed in a situation that could demonstrate the shortcomings of her training. While talented with weapons of many kinds, she concentrated only on weapons, ignoring other shinobi skills. Of course, if she had won, it would have gone a long way toward indicating her readiness to be a chunin.

The Nara and Aburame fights had been set based on limited information, and both had done very well. The strategic thinking both demonstrated was a skill that a chunin required. Both would make excellent chunin.

Naruto had grown in strength, there was no doubt, and there weren't many who could survive against Gaara. What intelligence he had on the Jinchuriki suggested that he would kill whoever faced him in the ring. He had considered matching him against one of the Sound genin, but there was a strong possibility that both Naruto and Gaara would see the final round and perhaps even fight each other. A match between two Jinchuriki could easily get out of hand, and it had occurred to Sarutobi that it was best it happen when the arena was not full of spectators.

Naruto went unhesitatingly to the field. He had made ready to fight any of the other hopefuls, but he had been warned by more than one that the matches were rigged. It made sense from a tactical viewpoint and a political one, though he didn't pretend to understand politics. He wondered what it meant that he was being matched against the homicidal Suna Jinchuriki.

When both were ready, the proctor gave the order to begin and then all but fled the arena floor. Gaara opened the huge gourd he carried strapped to his back, and sand poured out. Naruto pulled a scroll from an inside pocket and unfurled it, revealing it to be a storage seal.

"Mother wants your blood," the insane demon container said quietly as the sand surged forward. "She will have it."

"Not today, she won't," Naruto leaped back out of range, gathered chakra in his leg muscles and jumped again, high into the air, higher than the seats from which the other hopefuls watched. He swiped a bit of blood across the storage seal, and suddenly it was raining.

His leap carried him in a long high arc over Gaara as water poured from the storage scroll. It not only soaked the other boy, dampening his sand and slowing its movements, it knocked Gaara off his feet. The other Jinchuriki had to struggle, possibly for the first time in his life, to keep himself safe and alive. The water kept coming after Naruto landed, pouring out until a small lake had formed with Gaara in the center on an island of damp sand. Putting away the scroll, Naruto leaped onto the surface of the lake and ran at Gaara across the water.

He had learned a few water jutsu, and he decided to break them out. If the other hopefuls thought he specialized in water techniques, he would have an advantage in future rounds. With a couple of hand seals, he sent a wave crashing over Gaara's island. The sand tried to rise to protect him, but the movements were sluggish. It managed to hold back the worst of the wave, but another came right after with Naruto riding the crest. He drove through the crumbling defense and delivered right cross to the chin. Gaara staggered, and Naruto struck him again before jumping away, not giving the slow moving sand time to trap him.

Landing back on the surface of the water, he drew a handful of shuriken and threw them. They bounced off of Gaara harmlessly. _Sand armor, right_. He'd been told about that too, and that there were no simple ways to get around it.

The crack he'd made in the armor covering Gaara's cheek with his earlier blows repaired itself as he watched. Something broke the surface of the water at his feet and swung at him. A large, heavy tentacle of wet sand lashed at him, but Naruto easily avoided it and started running in circles around the island to make such attempts harder. He would throw waves at Gaara at random moments to keep the other boy wet and keep his sand under control. He noticed that the cork was back in the gourd, protecting who knew how much dry sand.

He wished he knew the water-prison jutsu, but he couldn't think of a way to explain knowing it. He'd be hard pressed as it was to explain what he'd done during the match. He was forced to set those thoughts aside by a stinging pain in his side. Jumping back, he put a hand to his ribs, discovering a thin red line. Looking back at Gaara, he could see thin tendrils of sand floating around him. They all originated in the gourd.

Naruto sent another wave crashing over the island and its sole inhabitant, but Gaara quickly withdrew the sand to the safety of the dry gourd. "Mother wants more," the mad demon container whispered.

Naruto didn't bother to answer. He created a dozen shadow clones instead, and surrounded the island. Each ran through a series of hand seals, focused their chakra before raising a curled hand to their lips. "Ninja technique: Water Trumpet." Each clone produced a high-pressure stream of water from their mouths, all directed at Gaara. The sand, as Naruto had hoped, retreated into the gourd and Gaara himself weathered the attack. The attack was merely a diversion, though. Three of the clones used the technique as cover to throw kunai with explosive tags.

All three struck the gourd, shattering it and scattering the sand which the other clones quickly hosed down. Gaara moved with a speed that surprised everyone. Half of the clones where destroyed before they could react as the Suna Jinchuriki ran by them. He sacrificed some of his remaining sand to form shuriken and sent them with incredible speed and force at the remaining Narutos. Each one found its mark and the remaining Narutos all dispelled in puffs of smoke.

Gaara's eyes widened imperceptibly, but before he could begin to search for the real Naruto, he was yanked beneath the surface. Gaara was too skilled to gasp in surprise, and managed a last gulp of air before being dragged under. There he found several more clones, all of which seemed intent on making him give up that air. Each time he dispatched one of the clones; two more would take its place.

Naruto stood on the surface looking down at the struggle, and creating new clones as necessary.

It took time, but eventually, the air ran out.

Naruto reached down through the water and hauled Gaara to the surface. He forced water from the other boy's lungs and laid him, gasping and coughing on the small island, too weakened to continue. The audience watched in tense silence until the proctor finally stepped forward. "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto."

OOOOOOOOOO

"Hyuuga Hinata versus Hyuuga Neji." Naruto stopped Hinata briefly as he ascended from the now dry arena, remembering what his counterparts had told him. "I've heard that Neji is some kind of prodigy in your clan's fighting style," he whispered to her. "You may want to take a different approach, something he won't expect." She looked at him curiously before blushing furiously and lowering her eyes.

In the area reserved for competitors, Naruto settled near the railing and watched Neji lecture Hinata on fate and the inevitability of her defeat. His blood boiled at the arrogance and cruelty the older Hyuuga was showing towards her. When the proctor gave the signal to begin, Hinata slid into the traditional stance of the Hyuuga clan's Gentle Fist style. It was a rigid and very precise form. The tenketsu points were small and difficult to hit on a stationary target, let alone during a battle. Every Hyuuga shinobi was drilled relentlessly in the family style and no variation was allowed. Any attempt at improvisation was considered sloppiness and punished. Hinata knew this all too well.

Neji was a prodigy, having mastered the style far earlier than others his age. His arrogance was somewhat justified. Hinata knew she could not best him in a straight fight using the Gentle Fist, but anything less than strict adherence to that style would surely get back to her father and he would consider her a greater failure than he already did.

She knew that if she were allowed to modify the stance, move more fluidly, it would feel more comfortable and natural. Kurenai-sensei had urged her to do so and even worked on it with her. This was a fact Hinata carefully concealed from her clan. In the Chunin Exams, however, perhaps she could get some leeway, perhaps find the courage to use what she had worked so hard on with her teammates and sensei. That didn't mean she would win, but she might be able to give Neji a few…surprises.

As she often did in such circumstances, she asked herself 'What would Naruto do?' She colored a little at the realization that it would likely be something embarrassing involving the Sexy Jutsu and/or explosives. She needed to surprise Neji….just not quite to that degree.

Hinata relaxed her stance, slightly rolling her shoulders.

"Bah!" Neji cut in on her thoughts. "You cannot even maintain a proper stance! How do you expect to beat me?"

Hinata blinked at him in confusion. "I'm sorry, Neji-niisan. We're you saying something?"

There was a burst of laughter from the viewing area. Kiba and Naruto, offering her their support. Even Shino seemed to be smiling. Neji, infuriated at the weakling's disregard of the offer he had been making her, a chance to surrender, wasted no more words and activated his bloodline before charging at her. She barely jumped aside and the strikes aimed at his side were casually deflected.

Hinata barely avoided his counterstrike, leaning and twisting to dodge rather than blocking. She knew from practice spars with her father and cousin that it was possible to use an opponent's defensive block to inflict damage. So she continued dodging, sneaking in blows where she could. None of them were successful, but she was still on her feet and he hadn't managed to close even one of her tenketsu.

Neji stopped to consider. Two successive attacks had been evaded, though barely. Hinata was moving in an unusual, but effective manner. It was, he realized, a sloppy, almost mangled, version of the Gentle Fist style. "Is that the best you can do? Mangle our clan's fighting style and avoid actually fighting?" He jumped over a leg sweep and kicked her, knocking her back before moving in to close off her chakra at six different points.

Rolling away with a supreme effort, Hinata managed to kick him in the chin, gaining enough time to get to her feet. Neji was on her again in a second, moving much faster. She did her best to dodge and block when necessary. Each blow that connected solidly, even those that struck her defensive blocks, closed off another tenketsu point. With each point closed, it became harder to react quickly, harder to move freely, harder to breathe.

"Pathetic!" Neji said coldly. "Do you see now the futility of opposing fate? You never stood a chance against me, especially with your sloppy form." His next blow sent her rolling across the arena. "Do something intelligent for once and stay down."

Hinata forced herself to her feet. Naruto was watching, and she would not have him think she was giving up. She could hear him cheering in the stands along with her teammate, Kiba.

Neji came at her again. Hinata managed to dodge the first few strikes and land a successful blow of her own, closing a tenketsu point on his right bicep, but he retaliated with a quick series of blows that closed half of her tenketsu. Coughing up blood, Hinata collapsed once more. Forcing herself up yet again, she turned to face him. "I will not give up!"

Infuriated at the display of will, Neji made a decision. "As you wish. Now, I end this." As he prepared to finish his cousin off with another deadly Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, an iron grip closed on his wrist before he could move.

"That's enough," Yuhi Kurenai, told him, her tone cold. Neji stared back angrily, but the proctor stepped forward before he could decide how to react.

"Match to Hyuuga Neji." The proctor called for a medic, but Kurenai helped her student walk out of the arena on her own.

"I'm sorry, Hinata. I had to intervene, or he would have killed you." Hinata managed to nod weakly. The medics insisted on placing her on a stretcher after she left the arena floor, and she was in too much pain to object.

OOOOOOOOOO

When Kankuro's name was called, he headed down to the arena floor casually, no hesitation or nervousness evident in his step. He soon proved that his confidence was justified. His opponent, Misumi Tsurugi, Kabuto's remaining teammate, was a taijutsu specialist with an unusual style. It could have given the puppet user problems if he had manage to get his hands on Kankuro. The Konoha genin's ability to unhinge his joints, wrap himself around an opponent like a snake and apply incredible pressure proved worse than useless. Choosing the wrong target for his attack made him easy prey.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Dosu Kinuta versus Akimichi Choji." Both looked confident as they headed to the arena floor, Naruto noted, and made sure to cheer extra loud for his friend. They took their places and at the proctor's signal, Dosu used his sonic weapon to stagger Choji.

The Akimichi heir clutched his ears, crying out in pain. "Nice trick," he gritted out, "but if I can't hear you it doesn't help. Human Bullet Tank!" His body began to swell and change. Soon he was the twice the height of his opponent and rounded. "All I need to do is plug my ears and your attack is useless!" With that, he pulled in his head and limbs and rolled toward Dosu at top speed, attempting to run him down.

Dosu dodged easily. There was power behind the technique, but Choji couldn't turn sharply. Adjusting his course took precious seconds, and when he came back, Dosu was ready. "Sound is vibration, moron. You don't have to hear it to be affected by it. All it takes is direct contact." He struck hard and fast, diverting his opponent's course and driving Choji into the wall. Then, he pressed his hands against him before activating his jutsu. "When my attack is applied directly, your whole body is basically one big ear."

Choji lost consciousness as the vibrations tore through his body, reverting him to normal.

"Winner, Dosu of Oto." The medics rushed onto the field to retrieve Choji as Dosu walked off the field.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Inuzuka Kiba versus Rock Lee." The two rushed down to the arena, both eager for the chance to prove themselves. The Hokage watched the two with interest. Although Gai had loudly proclaimed Lee to be as good a shinobi as any, the green-spandex-clad jonin did have a tendency to exaggerate and Sarutobi had briefly considered matching Lee against Gaara as a sacrifice, certain that the young genin's inability to mold chakra would keep him from advancing regardless of his skill in taijutsu. It was unlikely he would ever be a successful shinobi.

He had received other reports, however, that made him reconsider. When he saw advantage in pairing Naruto and Gaara, the opportunity arose to give Lee a fighting chance to prove himself. Kiba was an excellent candidate for advancement. If Lee could win, then he would deserve his shot at being chunin.

The two took their positions. Kiba was grinning widely, anticipating an easy win. He didn't know much about the other boy, but Hinata had mentioned earlier, that she could see his chakra pathways were atrophied. It seemed that, for some reason, he couldn't use chakra.

When they got the signal to begin, Lee charged forward with Kiba and Akamaru barely able to dodge. Lee made another pass, seeming almost leisurely in his movements despite the incredible speed. Again, Kiba and Akamaru barely avoided the attack.

Difficult as it was for him, Kiba decided they needed more information and time to study their opponent. He and Akamaru stayed on the defensive for several minutes, hoping to find a mistake to take advantage of, but Lee's form was perfect and he seemed tireless. Even using clan techniques such as the Beast Mimicry Jutsu, that increased their speed and reaction time, didn't provide any advantage.

He knew he couldn't keep dodging the insanely fast attacks and had to go on the offensive. Tossing a food pill to his dog, he called out, "Gatsuga!" The two came together and launched themselves into the air, starting to spin. The first pass was a clean miss, but Lee was clearly startled by the technique. Kiba and Akamaru sped up and made another pass, this time managing to clip Lee and send him sprawling. He was up and away before they could take advantage, though.

"A most youthful effort!" Lee cheered. "Very close, but I shall still defeat you!"

"We'll see about that," Kiba growled and they launched themselves into another Gatsuga. Lee waited, trying to time his strike just right. Seeing his chance, he leaped and began a spin of his own. "Leaf Hurricane!" he cried, landing several solid kicks in the apace of a second, despite Kiba's rotation. The force of the blows changed Kiba's course and sent him hurtling into the arena wall. Akamaru abandoned the fight and hurried over to his unconscious partner, whining softly.

"Winner, Rock Lee."

Maito Gai's cheering could be heard around the arena. Tenten, who had been released by the medics just in time for the match, joined in. Neji, as per usual, was quiet, casting his sensei and teammate disparaging looks for the spectacle they were making of themselves.

When Kiba had been taken out of the arena, the Hokage called the winners together before him. "Well done, all of you. In one month's time, you will compete in the finals against opponents that will be chosen momentarily. Each of you has had a chance to see your next opponent fight. Learn from your observations and use the next month to make yourself unpredictable. Enhance your skills and learn new ones. A shinobi must always be learning and improving, as stagnation leads to an early grave."

The hopefuls looked at each other, wondering who they would be fighting.

"Look to the board to see who your opponents will be," the Hokage told them. Images of the ten genin who would compete in the finals appeared. "Rock Lee will face Aburame Shino. Uzumaki Naruto will face Hyuuga Neji. Nara Shikamaru will face Temari of Suna. Kankuro of Suna will face Haruno Sakura. Uchiha Sasuke will face Dosu of Oto. Study your opponents well and prepare. You will face them in one month's time before a full arena. The audience will include representatives from all the elemental nations. Many potential clients will be watching the outcome of your matches as will people from the other hidden villages, looking over the future competition." He gave them a moment to consider this. "Train hard, plan well, and make your villages proud."


	17. Chapter 17

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.17

Naruto scowled at his sensei. "What do you mean you don't have time to train me?" The hospital corridor was not the place to be having this discussion if the looks some of the staff shot him were any indication, but Naruto didn't care. He'd been visiting Hinata when he'd run into his jonin sensei and taken the chance to ask about training.

"Sasuke's facing an opponent with skills unlike anything he's faced before. He's going to need a little extra help."

"So train us together!" Naruto yelled. "I've never fought a Hyuuga before and Sakura's fighting a puppet user. What's that about anyway? What kind of shinobi fights with dolls?"

Kakashi sighed. "Naruto, I know you've both made other arrangements. You and Sakura used techniques during your match that I didn't teach you."

"Is that why you're ditching us? 'Cause we had to find tutors? Well, whose fault is that?!"

"Yeah," Sakura said from behind him, startling both with her presence and the fact that she was agreeing with Naruto. "Naruto and I would have both been killed in the forest if we'd had to rely on just what you taught us," she said accusingly.

"No one expected Orochimaru to show up," Kakashi said tiredly. "You might not have passed, but you would have been fine. I meant the exam to be a learning experience for you; a chance to see what shinobi life is really like."

"Good job," Naruto snorted, sarcasm dripping off the words. "You not only throw us in, admitting we weren't ready, but you also admit you didn't expect us to pass?"

Kakashi had the grace to look embarrassed, "I didn't say that Naruto," he tried to backpedal, "but the possibility-"

"Oh save it," Sakura cut him off. "You didn't have any faith in us."

"I have no faith? I put a lot of thought into your training." Both genin snorted. "You throw off my plans for you by going behind my back to someone else?" He'd been planning on foisting them off to someone else for the next month if they passed anyway, but they didn't need to know that.

"That reminds me," Naruto turned to Sakura. "Who's been training you?"

"Who's been training you?" she returned, expecting him to be flustered by his crush on her, and the fact that he'd want to keep the scroll a secret. If she knew him at all, and she did, he'd drop it.

"I think you know. That's why I'm asking."

Sakura blinked in surprise as he stared at her, meeting her eyes without a hint of nervousness.

"Asking her is my job, kid." Kakashi was the only one that didn't jump, having noticed the approach of the head of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation department. "Haruno Sakura. Come with me; I have questions for you."

Sakura paled slightly, but followed meekly when he offered her the option of going under her own power. Kakashi watched curiously, but he did nothing. T&I was not his bailiwick, and he knew he had no right to interfere or even ask. Naruto, much to his surprise, didn't say or do anything. He did look a bit sad, though.

"I'm sure you'll sort out your own training, as you've been doing," Kakashi said. "I've got to go. Sasuke is waiting." He vanished in a swirl of leaves.

"Terrific," Naruto sighed. He was disappointed in his sensei, but not overly surprised. Kakashi had been right. Naruto could manage his own training. It still hurt, though, to have the jonin turn his back on him that way. Pushing that hurt away, he headed for his favorite isolated training ground.

Once there, he created some clones for taijutsu practice and several more to practicing the Earthflow River technique that still had some problems. He spent several hours this way, only heading back to his apartment after dark. He was curious about what Ibiki had learned from Sakura, but he knew he'd hear about it soon enough. He'd been working on his patience. Too many of the summoned Narutos had told him that he needed to learn to wait. They'd also told him he needed to learn to stop and think before acting. That, he suspected, was going to take longer.

He had to admit that charging into situations on gut instinct alone hadn't always worked. In fact, he was lucky to have survived so long acting the way he did. That had been pointed out to him several times. So he was trying to learn patience. It seemed a good place to start.

When he returned to his apartment, there was a message from the Hokage, asking him to report at 8:00 the next morning. Naruto showered, had dinner, and went to bed.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Ah, Naruto. Thank you for being prompt. It's good to know your sensei hasn't rubbed off on you." The Hokage smiled at his small joke and gestured Naruto to sit down.

"No worries there, Jiji. I hate waiting for him to show up, so I won't be picking up that habit." He frowned irritably. "I also wouldn't abandon anyone."

The Sandaime raised an eyebrow curiously, but Naruto didn't continue, so he got down to business. "Ibiki has questioned Sakura. She did indeed steal the summoning scroll, but she no longer has it."

"Gave it to Sasuke?" Naruto guessed. The old man shook his head. "That's a surprise."

"She was storing the scroll in a storage scroll tattooed on her skin, but when she tried to retrieve it, it was gone."

"How does someone not notice that?" Naruto asked incredulously.

The Hokage shrugged. "We think it might have been done when she was asleep. We'll search Sasuke and Kakashi's homes again and keep them under surveillance, but we can't bring them in without some evidence. I was stretching things having Ibiki question Sakura as it was."

"Thanks, Jiji." Naruto looked down, frustrated.

"We will find it, Naruto. Try not to worry, and keep your eyes open."

Naruto opened his mouth to ask a question, but thought better of it. He just nodded. "Is there anything else?"

"Sadly, no. Return to your training. I'll let you know what we find." Naruto rose and left the Hokage's office. He headed for his favorite training ground, intent on getting in a few more hours of practice on the various jutsu he had learned.

Once he had set a perimeter of shadow clones and was certain he was unobserved, he summoned a version of himself that was teaching him Earth jutsu. This particular Naruto had been taken in by a jonin with the famous Wood Release bloodline. While he couldn't mimic it, he had learned an impressive range of Earth Style techniques.

"These work best with Earth natured chakra," his counterpart told him, "but you can still get a lot of use out of them," his counterpart explained as he ran through the hand seals.

They spent the next four hours practicing two related Earth techniques, the Underground Hiding and the Inner Decapitation. He was getting the hang of the first, but needed work on the second. His speed and chakra control needed to improve as he was, his counterpart told him, too slow and easy to track by his chakra, even underground.

The two talked while they worked. Naruto liked hearing about the lives his counterparts led. Many were essentially the same, but some had much better lives while others envied Naruto the easy life he'd had.

This Naruto had been adopted by an ANBU captain and had learned a great deal from him. He'd graduated near the top of his class thanks to the help he'd received. The man's Wood Release bloodline made him invaluable to the village, and his reputation had somewhat shielded Naruto from the poor treatment the village had been inclined to heap on him.

"Are there any whose parents are still alive?" he asked.

"Oh sure, but they're a mixed bag, too. Just like the rest of us, some had it good, some had it bad. I know one genin whose parents put him in the orphanage, disowned him for his own protection, but couldn't protect the secret of the Kyuubi."

"You mean-?"

"Despite having two living parents, his life wasn't much different than yours was. He found out the truth right after graduation. Some traitor told him everything in an effort to turn him against the village."

"Did it work?" Naruto asked as he ran through the hand seals again.

"He was kind of vague about that," the other admitted. "The guy's got issues." He decided to change the subject. "Any luck locating the scroll?"

"Sakura took it," Naruto said, scowling. "Unfortunately, by the time there was proof, someone had taken it from her."

"Terrific," the summons sighed. "If someone uses that without following the rules, there could be real trouble. Especially if Sasuke has it."

"How so?"

"Mm. Not sure I should say. Sasuke varies as much as anyone world to world, but an obsession with vengeance is pretty common. I've heard stories about the Uchiha massacre, however, that make me really worry."

"Why?"

The other considered a moment, but finally seemed to come to a decision. "According to some versions of us, the Uchiha were planning a coup. Wanted to take over the village. Itachi did what he did because he was ordered to by the Third Hokage and the Council."

"Wha-? B-but that can't be right!" Naruto couldn't imagine the kindly old man giving an order like that under any circumstances.

"It may not be," the other shrugged. "I've never been able to confirm it in my own world. It may not be true in yours or mine."

"But it happened in some worlds." He thought a moment. "If Sasuke hears that, true or not… I don't even want to think about what he'd do!"

"What if he does have the scroll?" the summons asked. "What if he calls up a version of himself that tells him that?"

"Crap."

"Yeah."

"Should I warn the Hokage?"

The other considered and then shook his head. "I'm not sure which would be worse, the old man's reaction if that happened here or his reaction if it didn't. I think you should just be patient for now. Keep an eye on Sasuke and hope for the best."

Naruto wasn't sure he agreed with the summons' reasoning, but he decided to follow the advice for the time being. Instead, he focused on perfecting the Underground Movement technique. His chakra signature was still too easy to follow.

OOOOOOOOOO

Kakashi wouldn't be meeting with him till later that afternoon. While he waited, he was to be warming up and reviewing his basics. Sasuke had better use for his time, though. He signed the contract without hesitation.

The potential of the scroll as a training tool was near limitless. It also offered him the chance to gain valuable information about Itachi and the Akatsuki. After all, he might have to go through his brother's team to get to him.

With this in mind, he smeared blood on his hand, made the hand seals and slammed his hands to the ground. A man in his late teens or early 20s appeared in a puff of smoke. He looked so much like Itachi, that Sasuke started back for a moment. The summons even had the Mangekyo Sharingan.

"New summoner?" the man asked blandly.

"Yes," Sasuke confirmed. "If you are me, then you already know what I want."

"To avenge your clan and begin rebuilding it to its former glory," the other answered. Then his monotone voice betrayed a hint of bitterness. "I know this. It is all but a constant across the worlds I have seen."

Sasuke ground his teeth, struggling to contain his rage at this news. "Can you help me do that?"

"Yes," the summons answered, "but it may not be in the way you think." At Sasuke's angry glare, the other continued. "If our pasts are anything alike, there is a great deal you don't know. Tell me of your life and of what's happening now, and I can show you the truth of how badly our clan was betrayed."


	18. Chapter 18

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.18

Naruto's clone picked a good vantage point near the baths. If the information from the various summons was correct, the old pervert should be there. It only took a few seconds to spot the spiky white hair and red and green outfit. He shook his head, _and people complain about _my_ outfit_.

Sure enough, he had his eye pressed against a hole in the wall and was scribbling away in a notebook. Activating his Sexy Jutsu, the clone approached the toad sage quietly before shouting in his best feminine voice, "Eek! A pervert peeking at the women's baths!"

The man spun in place and stared at her. Then he glanced back at the fence. Angry female voices could be heard from the other side. "Oh, crap." He started to run, rather slowly for a shinobi, the clone thought, away from the baths, but he was quickly overtaken by several highly annoyed kunoichi and civilian women.

"Ow! Ladies please! It's not what you think!" The clone watched in wonder as one of the Elemental Nations' most powerful shinobi barely bothered to defend himself; let alone use Substitution or Body Flicker to escape. Instead, he let himself be beaten nearly to a pulp by the crowd of angry, towel-clad women.

"Maybe that Naruto was right. Maybe he secretly enjoys it," the disguised clone mused.

"You think so?"

Naruto quickly turned to find the proctor from the second exam standing behind him. "That's Jiraiya, isn't it? One of the best around, I've heard. Shouldn't he be able to escape a group of half-naked, unarmed women? Even if some of them are kunoichi?"

"Huh," Anko looked thoughtful. "That's kinda disturbing." She turned away to go back into the baths rather than joining in. "Coming, girl?"

"No," the clone demurred. "He's kind of put me off public baths for now."

Anko nodded sympathetically and went back inside.

The shadow clone left the scene before reverting to normal and going to the pervert's rescue. Twenty minutes later, Jiraiya sat beside him on a park bench sporting a perfect shiner gifted to him by the wife of the green grocer.

The clone was trying not to look directly at the Toad Sage. He started snickering every time he did. "Not funny, kid," Jiraiya grumbled.

"She wasn't even a kunoichi," Naruto's clone burst out laughing.

"You've got a funny way of asking for a favor," the man noted.

"Favor?"

"You put yourself at risk 'rescuing' me after you caused that scene to begin with. "What do you want?"

"What do you mean 'caused'? I wasn't the one who was peeping."

"Nah, you just raised the alarm, and don't bother denying it. I'm not stupid. Pretty sneaky, setting me up and then helping me. I'll give you points for that." The clone considered denying it, but decided not to in the end. Jiraiya watched him make the decision, then asked again. "What do you want?"

"I'm in the Chunin Exam, and I need help training."

"Why would I train you?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"Because you're my godfather." Jiraiya, who was certain he knew what the kid would say, had not expected that. "I'm not stupid either."

"How much do you know?" Jiraiya asked seriously.

"Most of it," he shrugged. "And I'm keeping my mouth shut about it. Like I said, I'm not stupid."

"Fair enough. I wasn't expecting you to give me that reason." He considered for a moment. "Okay. I'll see what I can teach you. After lunch, we'll head to training ground 14 and I'll see where you are."

"Right. See you there," the clone grinned and vanished in a puff of smoke. Jiraiya stared at the spot the boy had been sitting, blinking in shock.

"I was talking to a shadow clone?" He shook his head. "Damn, that kid is going to be interesting to teach."


	19. Chapter 19

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.19

Sasuke sent a summons in his place to meet with Kakashi for training. He couldn't face the man yet, not knowing what he now did. He would work on the Chidori with his first summons later. For now, he needed to think, and try to confirm what he'd just been told.

There were differences between worlds. His counterpart had been clear on that. Things might have played out differently, so he needed to be sure. Getting at those records would have been next to impossible for him, but his first summons had offered a few tips.

With a combination of Transformation, stealth, seals, and carefully structured lies, Sasuke gained a few minutes alone with the villages most closely guarded secrets. He used his Sharingan to commit them to memory and left quickly to review them in private.

That was how he learned about the Uchiha's attempted coup and about the orders Itachi had been given. He learned of Danzo and Root, and he learned of what he saw as the Third's utter failure to actually lead the village. It was clear that, while the Third wasn't a mouthpiece for Danzo, the old warhawk and the advisors had much more influence than they should. It was they who had conceived of and implemented the plan which the Hokage dutifully ordered carried out. There was no mention in the old man's private scrolls of attempts to find other solutions. No indication he had looked for another way. The more he read, the more his blood boiled.

There would be blood over this, he swore.

OOOOOOOOOO

Jiraiya stared at the summons in shock. The summoned Naruto looked at the man in mild irritation. "Why does he have to know?" he asked Naruto.

"He's my godfather and he's going to be training me. I thought it seemed only fair."

"I guess," the other sighed in resignation. "Just don't let him throw you off a cliff."

"Huh?" Jiraiya blinked in surprise. "Why would I do that?"

"I had trouble with toad summoning at first. Couldn't manage anything larger than a tadpole," his counterpart said, ignoring the Toad Sage, "Jiraiya decided I needed incentive to get it right, so he tossed me off a cliff hoping I would get it right on the way down. Gamabunta was not happy."

Jiraiya paled a bit at this. Being on the boss toad's bad side could have unpleasant consequences. "Don't worry," he said. "I won't be doing that. It looks like Naruto's chakra control is pretty good, so he won't have any trouble."

"I've had a lot of practice with my summons," Naruto explained. "So the summoning contracts won't exclude each other? Kakashi told me something about that."

"The summons need to get along," Jiraiya agreed. "Some tribes really hate each other, like the snakes and the toads, but this shouldn't be a problem."

"Who else knows about the contract?" his counterpart wanted to know. He had warned Naruto the first day about letting others know about it.

"Four others," Naruto scowled. "Sakura stole the contract and signed it. I had to tell the Hokage so he could do the search right. He said he had to tell Ibiki so he would know what to look for."

"That's three," the summons said. "But… Sakura? We aren't exactly best friends, but stealing from a teammate?"

"Surprised me, too."

"Who's the fourth?" Jiraiya asked.

"Whoever stole the scroll from Sakura. By the time there was proof she took it, she'd already lost it to someone."

"That sucks," his summons sighed. "You need to get that back before the Council finds out about it. That could get ugly."

"In your world?" Naruto started to ask, but the other shook his head.

"No, but I've seen it happen. Multiple Danzos is something I hope I never see again!"

"Amen," Jiraiya agreed. He shuddered at the notion and decided to change the subject. "I want to see a little more of what you've been learning before signing the Toad summoning contract. You've got tree and water walking down. Do you know your element?"

"Wind," Naruto nodded. "We kind of bugged Kakashi-sensei into showing us."

"If Sakura stole the scroll from you," his counterpart asked, interrupting Jiraiya's comment about Kakashi, "does that interfere with you taking the rest of the exam?"

"No," Jiraiya assured him. "The prelim matches of the third part are over. Only the finals are left, and that is all down to the individual." He turned to his Naruto. "It sounds like Kakashi hasn't been helping you much. You must have been putting in a lot of time with these summoned Narutos to get where you are."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Kakashi has shown us the basics and focused on nothing but teamwork."

The summons snorted derisively. "Your teammates stole from you. He can't have taught even that very well."

Naruto's shoulders sagged. "If she had asked, I might have given it to her," he said quietly.

"She wasn't much better in my world. We didn't get along too well, but a month or so of daily exposure to Sasuke got her over her obsession with him."

"Perhaps we should get on with the training?" Jiraiya suggested, trying to change the subject. It all sounded disturbingly familiar. "You've mastered tree and water walking. You know your elemental affinity, but your control isn't yet good enough to begin learning elemental manipulation. I think signing the Toad summoning contract and learning to summon them will help you get better control." Naruto looked at him warily. "Don't worry; I won't be throwing you off any cliffs." He shook his head. "I honestly can't imagine what my counterpart was thinking."

"It's a good idea," the summoned Naruto allowed, "but in my third exam, I never used my summons, nor did any of the Narutos I know. There is a jutsu that would have been a big help, though."

"What would that be?" Jiraiya asked, growing irritated at the boy's impertinence. This one was a grown man, rather than a 13 year-old boy, and undoubtedly had much more experience, but he'd never been a jonin sensei himself.

Instead of answering in words, the summons cupped his hand and concentrated, forming a spinning ball of chakra. Jiraiya blinked in surprise at the sight of one of Minato's signature techniques.

"You want to teach him the Rasengan? He's got a month to the finals."

"So?" the summons shrugged. "I learned it in a month." He dispelled the technique, "and I've done more with it since." He raised his hand, fingers spread and summoned five tiny Rasengan, one on the tip of each finger. Approaching one of the training posts, he drove his hand into it, drilling completely through and shattering the post. "I actually learned that from a younger version of myself who was still a genin. Not sure where he got the idea."

"Impressive," Jiraiya allowed, a bit shocked at the sight. Even he would have trouble doing that. Mastering the chakra control required to create and maintain five spheres at that size was quite a feat.

"Awesome!" Naruto enthused. "You can teach me that?"

"There might be time for you to get the basic form down," Jiraiya allowed, "but we'd have to begin immediately. I'll need to fetch some supplies." He looked keenly at the summons. "Leave his training to me in this, understood?" The summons nodded.

"I'd like to look around this Konoha before going back. See you around, Naruto." He altered his appearance to match Naruto's and took off. There was a lot to do, a lot that hadn't been discussed with Jiraiya. They knew Orochimaru was in the village somewhere and had confirmed that invasion was a strong possibility. At the very least, something was up between Sand and Sound.

The local Naruto had wanted to warn the Hokage of the possibility immediately, but had agreed to wait for proof. It had not been quick in coming, but it had come. With Gaara out of the exams, the Hokage had pressed to have the insane Jinchuriki sent home as there was no reason for him to stay in Konoha. The Kazekage, if that is who it was, hadn't argued. Gaara had gone home.

This would put a serious crimp in the snake-sannin's plans. It was unclear, though, if it would actually derail the invasion. Kabuto would know, but his disappearance or arrest would definitely change things. He knew another summoned Naruto had tried tailing Kabuto, but lost him after being spotted trying to eavesdrop on a meeting between him and a Sand jonin.

It might be necessary to take out the traitor, assuming this Kabuto was a traitor. Evidence was still unclear, and he was loathe to kill without a solid reason. At the moment, all he could do was keep watching. The local Naruto was calling the shots, as per the usual unspoken agreement, and he would need to offer strong evidence before the still idealistic boy would do anything.


	20. Chapter 20

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.20

Sasuke trained relentlessly over the next month. He learned not only the Chidori but one of its variations. More was promised when he mastered it. Kakashi was pleased with the progress he demonstrated, not suspecting that he was dealing with a different Sasuke roughly half of the time. This, too, was part of his training. The ability to deceive and use others, his summons had told him, just as the Uchiha had been deceived and used, was critical to gaining his revenge.

He had been told of the trials his counterpart had faced and was happy he didn't have to endure the curse mark or Orochimaru's training methods. His counterpart's training was rigorous, to be sure, but his teacher had the benefit of experience, and knew just how to motivate him.

The ANBU complicated things. Their search for proof that Sasuke had the scroll limited what they could practice, where and how. Kakashi had asked permission to leave the village with Sasuke and had been denied. It was too dangerous, the Hokage said, with Orochimaru seeking to acquire the Sharingan.

That had been a setback, but it was one the two Uchiha were able to overcome. With due caution, Sasuke and his new sensei kept anyone from learning about the arrangement, and the training proceeded at a pace that satisfied them both.

OOOOOOOOOO

Sakura sat in her cell for over a week before being brought before the Hokage. She had had no contact with anyone. Not even the servant that brought her meals spoke to her. The cell was constructed with seals that inhibited the use of chakra, so she could not escape or summon help. It was a long and lonely week.

She had spent a great deal of time thinking about why she had landed in her current mess and lamented the fact that she had not been more careful in the display of her skills. She knew that the Hokage was fond of Naruto, despite the demon's presence, and she wondered about that. Sarutobi Hiruzen was Hokage for a reason. He was no fool and Naruto, mannerless idiot that he was, had done nothing obvious to threaten the village. If he was the Kyuubi reborn, then he was doing an excellent job of biding his time.

Sakura was no fool herself. She had attempted to verify what the summons had told her. Each one had told a slightly different story, so each world must be different in some way. She had found no one in her own village willing to speak openly about Naruto or why he was so poorly treated, but she learned enough by eavesdropping to confirm that her counterpart had been correct.

She wasn't sure why the Hokage tolerated his presence in the village. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Naruto was very powerful. It wouldn't do to have the Nine-Tails fall into the hands of an enemy village. She was still trying to puzzle out how to get out when the door opened and she was informed the Hokage would see her.

OOOOOOOOOO

The old man made her wait for some time after she had been called into his office, and she began to fidget. Finally, he looked up from his paperwork with a sigh and began without preamble. "You stole a clan scroll from a shinobi of the Leaf. More than that, you stole from your own teammate. That is a bond of trust, that once shattered, is not easily repaired. Do you have anything to say for yourself? Can you offer any reason why you should be given the chance to restore it?"

Sakura had had time to consider her answer. Given Naruto's nature, she didn't really consider taking from him a crime, but she hadn't known his nature when she stole the scroll. There was only one answer she could give. "Initially, I was just curious, Hokage-sama. I wanted to see the scroll for myself. When I learned what it really was… I have no excuse for that. The first summons, though, told me something about Naruto that made me wonder if he should be allowed access to something so powerful."

"What were you told?"

"I was told something I've been able to confirm is true here. I've also learned about the law you passed."

"You think this is an excuse for stealing?"

"No, Hokage-sama. I didn't know what he was when I took the scroll."

"You would have seen no harm in stealing from him had you known his secret?"

Sakura looked confused. "He's a demon," she said. "Less powerful than he was, before being sealed, but still a demon."

The Hokage sighed. "Like so many others in this village, you understand nothing. Naruto is no more a demon than a cage is a prisoner. He contains the creature, keeps the rest of the world safe from it. It has no influence on him whatsoever." He leaned back in his chair and regarded her stonily. "Not that that changes your crime against him. I have two options. I can decide your punishment myself, or I can allow the village council, which includes all of the clan heads, to decide. They take the theft of clan secrets very seriously, and would likely wish to make an example of you."

Sakura paled slightly at the notion. She opened her mouth to speak, but thought better of it. Whether the Hokage's words were true or he was a victim of the demon's influence as some of her summons believed, she couldn't say, but it seemed foolish to take the risk. It would also be foolish, she realized, to suggest that the Hokage wasn't in his right mind.

"So you can only justify your crime after the fact with the absurd claim that Naruto is a demon and doesn't deserve to have the property you stole from him?" Again, Sakura stayed silent. "Very well, then." Sarutobi considered carefully. He wished to keep the nature of the property secret, even from the Council, so it would be best not to bring the matter before them. The girl might tell someone if she didn't have hope of regaining what she'd lost. There were seals that could prevent her from speaking of the scroll, of course, but he was loathe to apply them to a young girl. It was likely that her foolish infatuation with the Uchiha had led to the transgression, so there had been no real malice in the crime. He made his choice.

"When you graduated the Academy you became an adult in the eyes of the law. Such a crime can carry a very stiff penalty." Sakura gulped audibly. "You will serve a six month sentence during which your chakra will be sealed. At the end of that, you will be evaluated to see if your shinobi career can be salvaged. A condition of this light sentence, however, is that you never reveal the nature of the scroll to anyone. If you do, your chakra will be sealed permanently and a seal will be placed on your tongue that will cost you that tongue if you speak of it or even attempt to reveal it. Is that understood?"

Sakura bowed her head. "Hai, Hokage-sama." She kept her tone respectful, but was quietly fuming. _This is the baka's fault_. Even as that thought crossed her mind, though, there was a twinge of doubt.


	21. Chapter 21

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.21

"Rasengan!" Naruto drove the swirling ball of blue chakra into the training post and watched the wood shatter into tiny splinters. "Yeah! I got it!"

It had taken him three weeks to get the jutsu to work for him, and he had had to use a clone for the last week. Finally, on the day before the finals, he managed to create a Rasengan with one hand.

"Took me a lot longer," the summons assisting that day confided in Jiraiya. "For the longest time I just couldn't get it so I kept using clones and let that be a kind of crutch. One day… it just clicked. Not something pervy-sage would have thought of telling me, either. It was an odd thought I had while stirring my ramen at Ichiraku's."

Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "Looks like you all have at least one thing in common." The summons shrugged while Naruto formed another Rasengan and dismissed it before quickly forming a third. This one had told them how he had been raised away from the village after being chased out before graduating the academy. Jiraiya had taken him in and trained him, pawning him off on other caretakers and instructors when he needed to go somewhere he couldn't take the boy. He had a wide variety of skills, but thanks to Jiraiya's on-again-off-again training, he still had a long way to go before he was a master of anything. Like Naruto, he had come across the summoning scroll by accident and used it to take charge of his own training.

"Yeah! I really got it," Naruto called. "I think I'll celebrate with a few bowls at Ichiraku's." He looked up as his summons snickered about something and dropped his head in his hands. "What?"

"Nothing," the summons assured him with a smile. "Good work. That'll come in real handy at the finals."

OOOOOOOOOO

The Chidori cleaved cleanly through the boulder. Sasuke stood staring at it, breathing hard.

"That was your third today, and you're barely winded. I'm impressed." Kakahi put up his little orange book. "You've come a long way in just a month, Sasuke. Not only have you learned my signature technique, but you've nearly doubled your speed. Your reaction time has increased as well. I think you'll have no problem winning your matches."

"It'll do for now," the last Uchiha allowed.

"Finals are tomorrow, and you're depleted. I suggest resting tonight, and meeting me here tomorrow for a strategy session. You don't want to be suffering chakra depletion before your match."

Sasuke merely nodded and headed off. He didn't head for home, though. He took a roundabout way to another training ground, making sure no one was following or observing him. It was irritating, but he knew there were people keeping tabs on him and precautions had to be taken. At one point when he knew he was out of sight, he summoned an identical version of himself, one he'd made arrangements with for just such occasions. Twice in the past month, he'd been summoned to help his counterpart slip away. It was an equitable and very convenient arrangement, as it took much less chakra than the Shadow Clone jutsu.

Once he reached his chosen training field, he summoned the first version of himself that he'd encountered. The older version of himself appeared in a puff of smoke. "How did training with Kakashi-sensei go?"

"It was an adequate workout. I don't believe he suspects I'm holding back. The chakra control exercises and the new jutsu have made his training fairly simple to keep up with. I may not have mastered the jutsu you taught me, but I can make use of the basic forms."

"That will be enough against Dosu and a few of the others, but do not get careless. Remember to watch every match and learn what you can from them. Many will display new techniques for you to copy."

"I won't waste the opportunity," Sasuke assured him. "When the invasion starts, I'll be ready. Will you?"

"Of course. Summon me at the proper time. I look forward to seeing Orochimaru again. I will deal with him. Then, together, we will use the techniques I've taught you to 'thank' the Hokage for all he has done for you." He offered a slight smile. "Are you ready for another training session?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Tsukuyomi." His counterpart had learned from past mistakes and trial and error that the genjutsu didn't have to be used for torture. The time-dilation aspect of it had other uses. With it, he had been able to give Sasuke almost a year's worth of training in the month that had passed. It was chakra intensive and draining for both of them, but it had the desired result.

In just under 30 seconds, before the drain became critical for him, the summons helped his younger self master the full body Chidori and the two variations he'd been working on. Ending the illusion, the summons nodded. "Well done. Get a good night's sleep and summon me at the appointed hour." He vanished in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke headed for home. The invasion would begin tomorrow, and he would be ready. He no longer cared what happened to the village that had so thoroughly betrayed his clan. Konoha could burn for all he cared, but the architect of his suffering, Sarutobi Hiruzen, would die by his hands.


	22. Chapter 22

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.22

The five genin who had made it to the finals watched the crowd with mixed reactions. None displayed open nervousness, even though it would be their first time fighting before such a huge crowd.

There were merchants, minor lords, dignitaries from other hidden villages, and even a Daimyo or two in the audience. A large part of Konoha's population was there as well. The clan heads had turned out, as had members of their families.

Each had their own reasons for being there. The merchants, lords, and Daimyos were looking at the prospects for future jobs. Representatives of the other hidden villages were there to size up the competition. Several clan heads had come to watch their children compete while others were merely drawn by curiosity. Most of the crowd was simply there for the show.

Hayate took the center of the arena and called the first match. "Rock Lee and Aburame Shino. Please take your places." He coughed slightly as he waited for the two. The past month had been a little weird for him. On several occasions, he had been certain someone had been watching him. Twice, he had nearly caught someone, but each time come up dry. On one occasion, whoever it was had interrupted a very interesting meeting between a Suna jonin and a Konoha genin before it could properly get started. The two had just met, obviously being careful not to be seen, when they noticed someone landing on the roof above them. They hadn't found anyone either, but it had spooked them.

It seemed, Hayate thought, that someone, perhaps a talented genin testing his skills, was playing games. Whatever the case, it had cost him evidence of a potential spy. He had had to settle for merely informing the Hokage of Kabuto's suspicious actions.

Focusing on the task before him, he reiterated the rules to the two genin. "Basically, anything goes. That said, I expect to see some restraint. While killing is allowed, it is not necessary, and if I see you've won and plan to kill a defeated opponent, I will stop the match. Understood?" Both nodded. "Ready? Begin!" He jumped back and claimed a safe vantage point from which to watch the match, out of the way, but close enough that he could intervene if necessary.

"Let us have a youthful match!" Lee enthused taking his ready stance. Shino didn't answer. He was familiar with the Strong Fist style that Lee had learned from Maito Gai and felt confident he could counter it. Keeping out of the taijutsu user's reach until the bugs had drained his chakra was going to be the tricky part.

He released a swarm his bugs, dividing them into groups, each trying to cut off a different angle of attack. The swarm hadn't closed half the distance, though, when Lee vanished. The older boy appeared next to him already in mid-swing.

Shino had been working hard on his taijutsu and managed, barely, to block the initial strike and the next three before his insects came to his aid. By the time they closed in, though, Lee was gone. He had moved halfway across the stadium and was watching the swarm carefully. "Your insects are a formidable defense, but too slow to stop me. I am pleased to see you've been improving your taijutsu."

"It seemed prudent, given my opponent's identity," Shino acknowledged, realizing he'd have to change tactics. Running through a series of hand seals, he called his swarm to him, momentarily obscuring Lee's view. When the swarm cleared, three Shinos stood before him. They all charged.

Lee couldn't tell which was which, and knew a wrong choice would leave him covered in chakra eating bugs, if he were to engage directly. Drawing three kunai, he threw them at the oncoming enemy. All three dodged rather than blocked, but Lee was already in motion. Unhooking his weights, he spun and kicked, sending the weights straight through one of the clones. It had moved directly into the path of the oncoming weight as it dodged the kunai. The second weight caught the real Shino in the side as he twisted to avoid the thrown blade. The bug user was knocked off his feet and hit the ground, knowing that at least two ribs had been broken. The remaining clone dispersed into a swarm that, along with the other cloud, moved to envelop him. Without his weights, however, the bugs might as well have been moving through tar. Lee quickly dodged around the swarm and delivered a light tap to the side of the head, which rendered Shino unconscious without hurting him.

"Winner, Rock Lee," the proctor announced. Medics came onto the field to retrieve Shino while Lee returned to the stands and his sensei, who was practically weeping with joy. The others present looked on uncomfortably or looked away as the two hugged rapturously.


	23. Chapter 23

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.23

Both Neji and Naruto were greatly relieved when they were called to the arena floor for their match. They took their places in the arena and waited for Hayate to give the signal. When he did, both slid into a ready stance and studied the other.

"You should save yourself time and pain," Neji advised. "You are-"

"Fated to lose, destined to fall before your superiority yada yada yada," Naruto cut him off. "The only thing you're likely to hurt is my ears with that crap!"

"Denial of the obvious will gain you nothing," Neji told him calmly. "If you require proof, you will have it."

"So let's have it. Shadow Clone Justu!" Five additional Naruto's appeared and rushed Neji even as he activated his Byakugan. The first wave was dealt with readily enough and the second was moving in, trying to use the smoke of the dispelled first wave as cover.

This group surrounded him and performed an unfamiliar jutsu as they approached, and Neji watched warily as a dense ball of chakra formed in the right hand of each. Before they reached him, the clones stopped and drove the spheres into the ground, casting up huge sprays of dirt and rock.

There was no dodging the attack. Neji was forced to use the Main House secret technique to defend himself from the flying stones. There were gasps from the audience as he spun in place, summoning up the dome of chakra that many, especially the Hyuuga in the audience, recognized. No branch family member was supposed to know how to do that, and Neji cursed inwardly as he was forced into it by such a crude attack.

Right behind the attack came the clones themselves, hoping to capitalize on the obscured vision and any injury the attack might have caused. They found an uninjured and fully aware Hyuuga prodigy waiting for them, any projectile of significant size or threat having been easily turned aside. The only effect their attack had had was to cover the furious young man in dirt, as the technique couldn't block the finer particles. He dispatched each clone in the most painful way he could manage.

"Yeesh!" Naruto called as he got the memories. "Who knew getting you dirty would be what cracked that famous Hyuuga self-control?"

Neji was too angry to respond in words, so he merely clamped his jaw shut and ran at Naruto.

His opponent dodged back and summoned more clones. Neji realized that Naruto had summoned this group without hand seals or calling out the name. He wondered if that was significant, but didn't have time to ponder it as he had to deal with the new clones.

They didn't attempt to fight any more than the first had and he assumed Naruto was simply trying to create another smoke screen, a useless tactic to employ against someone with the Byakugan.

He struck one clone in the forehead even as he dodged clumsy lunges from two others. That was when things went wrong. The clone didn't dissipate and he found his fingers were stuck fast. "What?"

He was forced to clumsily dodge the others while trying to shake the first one loose even as it grabbed his arm, adhering as if made of glue. It used chakra to anchor itself to the ground and yank him off balance, allowing another clone grab his other arm. Neji jumped high, managing to pull the two clones from the ground and carrying them with him, and landed well clear of the other three. "What is this?" he demanded, trying to shake them loose without success.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves," the clone at the end of his finger grinned. "We're tar clones, and you're stuck with us!"

There was an audible groan from some members of the audience and the real Naruto. "Stuck with you? Come on guys, what have I told you about that!?"

Neji scowled at the prankster even as the remaining clones charged him. "We shall see," the Hyuuga prodigy answered. "Heavenly Spin."

He began to spin in place, again demonstrating the clan technique he had secretly mastered. The two clones were lifted off their feet by the centrifugal force and used to extend his reach. The remaining three were sent flying by the impacts with sufficient force to dispel them just before he sent chakra pulses to the tenketsu points the two clinging to him had unwittingly covered, managing, much to his relief, to dislodge them.

The two clones went flying even as Neji realized something was wrong. The real Naruto had not been idle.

Recalling the description of one of his counterpart's bouts with one Neji, Naruto used one of the techniques learned from him. He hadn't mastered it, so the area of effect wasn't very large, but it served its purpose. "Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld."

By the time the last clone had been dislodged, Neji was waist deep in mud and still drilling down. He was neck deep when the ground suddenly solidified around him. Freeing himself would require only a few seconds of focus and application of chakra, but Naruto was already on top of him, delivering a knockout blow. Only then did the prankster allow himself to fall over laughing.

"Winner, Uzumaki." The proctor called, even as he looked on disapprovingly at the boy who was near helpless with laughter.

"Would you mind digging him out?" Hayate asked with a cough, which only caused a fresh wave of laughter. "Never mind." He focused his own chakra and softened the ground enough to easily drag the Hyuuga prodigy free. "Clear the floor for the next match," he told Naruto as medics arrived to remove Neji.


	24. Chapter 24

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.24

Naruto returned to the viewing area where the others and their sensei waited. "Laughing at a defeated opponent is most unyouthful, Naruto," Maito Gai observed.

"I'm sorry," Naruto said, mostly over his laughter. "You're right. I shouldn't laugh at my opponent…even when he screws himself into the ground!" A fresh wave of laughter overcame him, much to the irritation of the other genin.

On the arena floor, Hayate was telling the crowd that Kankuro had a bye to the next round and that the next match would be Nara Shikamaru v. Temari of Suna. Shikamaru sighed when he heard this. "I think I'll-"

"Think again, the blond kunoichi snapped. "If you try to forfeit, you'll still have to fight, right here in the box."

"What a drag," the lazy genin muttered, pulling himself to his feet and heading down to the arena. What followed were three of the most frustrating hours of Temari's life.

The Nara heir was fast enough to avoid her wind attacks some of the time and smart enough to find cover when that wasn't possible. His Shadow Possession Jutsu kept her at a distance, each bit of darkness she saw, whether he was responsible for it or not, caused her to retreat a bit. Eventually, she was forced back toward the eastern wall of the arena as the sun moved across the sky, but there was still plenty of room to work.

While they were mostly at a stalemate, Shikamaru had found some interesting ways to extend the reach of his shadow. On four occasions, she had to move fast to avoid capture, and each attempt backed her further into a corner. She was being herded and she knew it. Temari hadn't been idle, of course. Every time an opportunity presented itself, she would use a wind jutsu to level, shred, or otherwise remove a piece of cover. He was running out of places to hide. She was preparing for another foray into the area his shadow could reach so she could obliterate another piece of cover when she discovered she couldn't move.

"H-how?"

"There's a hole near your foot," the Nara said, coming out of hiding. "Probably an animal den at one time. Took a while, but I worked my shadow through that from another entrance." He sighed. "Could have won this," he muttered, "but I'm out of chakra." He released her and turned to the proctor. "I surrender."

Hayate and Temari both stared at him incredulously. Finally, the proctor shook his head. "Winner, Temari of Suna."

Both left the arena floor, Temari looked furious, but did nothing. She had technically won and would move on to the next round. Shikamaru looked as bored as ever, knowing that it wasn't necessary to win the tournament, merely to prove his abilities, and he had done so with his trademark minimal effort.


	25. Chapter 25

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.25

"The next round will be Uchiha Sasuke and Dosu of the Sound Village." Both headed down, Sasuke looking bored and Dosu looking eager. When they reached the floor, Hayate looked over both and gave his usual speech. Killing was allowed, but when he said the match was over, it was over. "Begin."

As the proctor leaped back, clearing the area for the combatants, Dosu settled into a ready stance, waiting for Sasuke to make the first move, curious to see what the boy had learned in his month of training and how much he would show in his initial attack.

Orochimaru had tasked him with killing the Uchiha and he would see that through. There had been quiet talk in Konoha of Orochimaru's presence and of how he had been thwarted in killing Sasuke. There had been nothing like an official announcement, one had to know how and where to listen. He wasn't sure why the Uchiha was so important, but it really didn't matter. He was a loyal Sound shinobi and would carry out his orders.

It seemed he wouldn't have to wait long. The Uchiha charged at him, almost too fast to dodge. They engaged in a brief taijutsu spar, and it seemed he was determined to damage the melody arm, or at least not give Dosu time to use it. Sasuke wasn't the only one who had trained, though. Dosu might have lacked the Sharingan, but he wasn't useless in a taijutsu match and managed to hold his own long enough to activate his melody arm, which was all the more devastating at close range.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and pushed forward, doing his best to ignore the pain. The Oto-nin's weapon was designed to take a lot of punishment, that didn't mean it couldn't be broken. He kept pushing, and finally, Dosu was forced to retreat.

"You're tougher than you look," Dosu allowed, offering a grudging compliment. He was expected to give the signal for the beginning of the invasion. With Gaara out of the tournament, the plan had been altered. Gaara waited with the Sand forces hidden outside the village.

The Uchiha's death was to be the signal, so it was time to stop fooling around. Readying his finishing move, he ran toward Sasuke, who ran through some hand seals and sent a massive fireball toward him. Dosu had to dodge quickly, but was in no real danger from the technique. Then he realized Sasuke had vanished. An attempt to swing around, launching an omni-directional attack with the melody arm, was interrupted as a hand sheathed in lightning exited his chest. Dosu stared at it in numb shock for a moment, before falling forward, dead.

In the Kage's box, the disguised Orochimaru nodded in satisfaction. Sasuke was indeed worthy of his gift. He gave the signal.

Across the arena, flower petals began to fall, and the audience began to fall asleep. The Hokage did not realize what was happening at first, not being subjected to the genjutsu himself, and was caught off guard when the Kazekage seized him and leaped to the roof.

In the viewing box where the chunin hopefuls waited, Temari and Kankuro launched themselves into the audience preparing to fight should any of the others manage to throw off the genjutsu. None of them were prepared for what Naruto did. A version of himself that had been Yuhi Kurenai's student had learned how to disrupt genjutsu, not merely for himself, but for others. With the reserves that most versions of him had, the technique did much more than intended.

Making a hand seal unfamiliar to the other genine and gathering a massive amount of chakra to his core, he called out, "Naruto Majutsu: Chakra Pulse!" There was an almost physical shockwave as the energy passed over the arena, then the forest, then the village. People in the stands began to wake. Similar genjutsus used in the village to disguise Sand and Sound agents were suddenly disrupted, drawing the attention of ANBU. The alarm spread quickly. In the forest outside the village, where a group of Sound nin were trying to summon a monstrous snake to batter the village walls, the wave struck at just the wrong moment disrupting the summoning with fatal consequences for summons and two of the summoners when the massive serpent collapsed on top of them before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Naruto knew none of this, though, as he focused on the Kage's box. Sasuke, much to his surprise, was right beside him as he landed near the barrier that four of the now revealed Orochimaru's minions had raised.

"We can't get through it," one of the ANBU said. "You two, go help keep the civilians in the crowd safe."

"We can get through," Sasuke said with certainty. He looked at Naruto. "I saw the barrier flicker when you used that jutsu."

The ANBU present shared a look. "Then open it for us and proceed as ordered. We will rescue Hokage-sama."

Naruto gathered his chakra for another pulse, but this time, he tried to direct it into the barrier. When it began to flicker and stutter, both boys and the two ANBU jumped. Only one of the ANBU made it through, the other was caught by the reforming barrier and vaporized. The ANBU, perceived as the greater threat, were promptly attacked by one of Orochimaru's subordinates while Naruto and Sasuke made their way toward the fight between the Hokage and his former student.


	26. Chapter 26

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.26

Naruto threw a handful of shuriken at the missing-nin. "Shadow shuriken jutsu!" The three projectiles became 30 and Orochimaru was forced to dodge. Naruto was already preparing another jutsu and Sasuke had vanished, only to reappear near Orochimaru.

"Chidori Senbon!" Of the dozen chakra 'needles' sent his way, the snake sannin managed to dodge all but two of them. They both struck his left arm and delivered what, to most people, would have been a fatal shock.

He leaped away and began making hand seals. "It would appear you are stronger than I had hoped, Sasuke-kun. You haven't realized your full potential, though."

"Save it," Sasuke cut him off. "I know what you want. Your hollow promises won't sway me. You don't offer real power, just a place in line as your next puppet. I'll pass."

Orochimaru looked taken aback by the statement, but then his eyes narrowed. "Who said you had a choice?" He began a new series of hand seals. "Summoning jutsu: Impure World Resurrection!"

Both Sasuke and Naruto, who had paused to check on the Hokage, knew what that meant. Naruto reacted first, with his own summoning jutsu.

When the cloud of smoke cleared, everyone gaped. Orochimaru glanced from the new arrival to one of the coffins that was slowly rising out of the ground. "Impossible! Minato! How can it be you?"

The new arrival, a blue-eyed blond in full Hokage robes and hat took in the situation in an instant. "That will be enough out of you, Orochimaru." He withdrew a single coin from a pocket and flipped it into the air before making some rapid hand seals and catching the coin between his hands. There was a bright flash and the coin, leaving a ray of bright blue light in its wake, obliterated all three coffins.

Orochimaru stared at the familiar technique. "You were the ANBU I met in the forest. Clever distraction and an impressive jutsu, but it won't save the old man, or you!"

"It won't have to," a chillingly familiar voice spoke from behind him. He turned to find someone who looked very much like Itachi staring coldly at him. "Proceed as we discussed, Sasuke, I will be with you in a moment."

"That was pretty cool," Naruto said, "but kind of unnecessary. I remembered your warning and replaced Kin and the others with disguised shadow clones. I was kind of looking forward to seeing what would happen, and what's with the get up?"

His summons grinned and laughed. "Good plan. The clones probably got disrupted by the first stage of Orochimaru's jutsu, though. As for the getup? I never said I wasn't the sixth Hokage."

Naruto blinked stupidly for a moment then decided to deal with it later. He turned to glare at Sasuke. "So you _are_ the one who took the summoning contract from Sakura," Naruto accused as the other boy landed nearby, and approached the Hokage.

"What of it, dobe?" he asked carelessly. Naruto blinked. "You're not my concern right now. He is." He glared at the Hokage. "You did it. You gave the order."

"Order?" the old man frowned.

"What are you talking about, Sasuke?" Naruto demanded. "He hasn't done anything to you."

"You ordered my clan slaughtered! You ordered Itachi to do it!" Naruto gaped at him and then looked to his counterpart who had been splitting his attention between the fight between Orochimaru and the older version of Sasuke and the drama developing between Sarutobi and the local Sasuke. Naruto had hoped that that hadn't happened in his world, but apparently, it had. The summons caught his young counterpart's eye and nodded gravely, confirming the Uchiha boy's words

"This is not the time. Orochimaru-"

"Is being dealt with," Sasuke cut him off. "Now you get to answer for what you did."

"The Uchiha clan was planning a coup. They became a threat to the safety and stability of this village I am sworn to protect." His voice grew hard. "Do you believe it was my first choice? Do you think I didn't try to find another solution?"

"They were a threat," Sasuke mocked. "The civilians of my clan were a threat. The children of my clan were plotting against you? What kind of fool do you take me for? I've heard enough!"

He blurred through the hand seals and spat a huge fireball at the Third.

Sarutobi easily sidestepped the technique and caught the boy's real attack just as easily, gripping his wrist in one hand and the collar of his shirt in another, holding him off the ground. He looked on Sasuke sadly. "I don't expect you to understand the choice I had to make, or what it means to be Hokage. The good of the village must come before the good of one clan. I do not regret my choice, Sasuke, only its necessity. You have a chance to redeem their mistakes and start fresh. Don't throw your life away for something as meaningless as revenge."

Sasuke's only response was to produce a full-body Chidori.

Sarutobi convulsed briefly before tossing the boy away. "Very well," he said sadly.

"Don't do this, Sasuke!" Naruto begged. "Revenge won't fix anything, even if you win. It'll just get worse." The Uchiha boy ignored him and charged a Chidori before running at the Hokage.

"Fine," Naruto growled. "I'll just have to beat sense into you. Rasengan!" He leapt between the Hokage and Sasuke.

The two A-rank techniques met in a spectacular display of pyrotechnics that sent the boys flying in opposite directions. Naruto regained his feet first. "Let me handle this," he said to Sarutobi. "I can get through to him." There was no doubt in his tone and Sarutobi risked turning his full attention to the battle between Orochimaru and the older version of Sasuke, only to discover it was already over. His former student's headless body was being consumed by the black flames of Amaterasu. The severed head lay a few feet away. When the fire had done its work, the summons turned to Sarutobi, casually crushing the snake sannin's head underfoot as he approached.

"Time to pay for your treachery, old man."

"You know I won't allow that." Naruto's summons was suddenly between them.

"We shall see." The two summons moved with blinding speed, exchanging blows at a speed that even Sarutobi had difficulty following. A glance at Naruto showed that he and Sasuke were more evenly matched than the Hokage would have expected.

Sasuke's Sharingan gave him a slight advantage, but Naruto's boundless energy and rapid healing did a lot to even things out. The Jinchuriki was using an eclectic mix of styles that was hard to follow let alone predict. Sasuke's form was near perfect Uchiha clan-style, but he was having a hard time dealing with Naruto's unconventional fighting style.

Sasuke gained some distance and tried a fire jutsu, which Naruto turned back on him with a sloppy wind jutsu that resembled a strong gust of wind more than an attack. Leaving them to it, Sarutobi turned his attention to those maintaining the barrier.

He found the ANBU who had come through with Naruto and Sasuke engaged with two of Orochimaru's men and barely holding his own. Sarutobi's intervention tipped the scales and the odds went from three to one to even in seconds as a Sound kunoichi lost her head to a flying roof tile.

The barrier was wavering, but still solid enough to keep out reinforcements. The remaining two were showing the strain of maintaining it, and Sarutobi realized that taking even one of them out would eliminate the barrier. Then one of the enemy split into two, complicating matters.


	27. Chapter 27

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.27

"Will killing the Hokage bring your family back?" Naruto demanded. "If you manage that, will getting yourself killed by ANBU restore your clan?"

"Shut up! Just, shut up!" Sasuke snarled, closing for another bout of taijutsu. It went about as well as it had before. Naruto blocked and delivered a spinning back fist as he attempted a leg sweep. Unable to avoid both, Sasuke stumbled back and flipped away. Once he had some distance between them, he fired off a huge fireball used a body-flicker to appear behind Naruto. The trick he had used to such good effect against Dosu only earned him a back-handed strike to the nose as Naruto twisted aside, avoiding the Chidori effortlessly.

"That's supposed to be an assassination technique?" he asked incredulously. "It's so loud."

Sasuke hopped back out of range of Naruto's follow-up attack and released the technique. "Sure I can't get you to think about this? My summons told me things just like yours did. Itachi gave up a lot to keep you safe. You really going to spit on that sacrifice?"

"You know nothing about that!" Sasuke shouted, charging again. Naruto met him halfway and drove a fist into his gut while head-butting him.

"And all you know is what your summons told you. Things happen differently."

"The Hokage admitted it. You heard him."

"Yeah, I heard. I also heard what he said about your clan."

"Lies! He was jealous of them, feared the Uchiha's superiority! Feared they would try to take the village, but my clan was always loyal!"

"You sure?" Naruto asked, "or is that just what your summons told you? Why not ask Itachi himself?"

Sasuke didn't answer, choosing instead to make another attempt to kill Naruto.

"Are you afraid he'll confirm what the Hokage said?"

Another furious attack was easily turned aside. Sasuke's speed was impressive, but he was losing control, getting too mad to think through his attacks first.

"You've always been smarter than me, Sasuke. Why can I see this so easy and you're snarling and fighting like an animal?"

"Shut up and die! You have no idea what I've lost. You've never had anyone, so you have no idea what it means to lose those bonds!" He kept Naruto too busy staying alive for the next few minutes to answer. Each time a blow was evaded or deflected, it made him angrier, but he soon realized that it was clouding his judgment and he backed off to take a breath.

"You ready to listen to reason yet?" Naruto called, catching his breath.

"You're in my way," the Uchiha growled, still angry but feeling much more in control. "Step aside or die."

"Terrific," Naruto muttered before going on the attack again.


	28. Chapter 28

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.28

Namikaze Naruto, sixth Hokage of Konoha had rarely been so hard pressed. Wherever the version of Uchiha Sasuke he was fighting came from, one thing was clear. No one had ever told this world's Sasuke that he needed to specify sanity as a required trait of his summons.

Naruto had a lot of experience turning enemies into friends, but so far, all his efforts had brought him were oaths of vengeance against himself and his entire world and repeated attempts at murder. How the other summons expected to attack another reality was beyond him, but he couldn't really take the time to ponder on it. This version of Sasuke had all of the Uchiha clan techniques as well as Orochimaru's bag of tricks to draw on. He had to admit it was an effective, if disturbing, mix.

"You've learned a lot from the snake bastard, I see. Is he a pedophile in your world too?" The adult Sasuke made another attempt at murder. "Was that a yes? I know all of that jerk's tricks from fighting different versions of him. He wouldn't teach them to someone he wasn't… close to."

"You are wasting your time," the other summons said, after sending a Phoenix Fire jutsu his way. "You cannot make me angry. You are merely an annoying obstacle in my path to vengeance on the Hokage."

"What did this Sarutobi ever do to you? You're not even from the same universe!" Naruto cried in exasperation as he expertly dodged the attack.

"The Sarutobi in my world died before I learned the truth. Danzo, the councilors, Orochimaru, all who betrayed my clan and denied me my vengeance are gone from my world. That doesn't mean I can't assist my counterparts in taking theirs."

"So you get a vicarious thrill out of getting kids to turn traitor and murder the Kages? That's sick." Then it occurred to him that something was a little off. No version of Sasuke he knew could be called chatty, but this one was doing quite a lot of talking. Using the chakra pulse technique he had learned from one of his counterparts, he shattered the genjutsu and performed a Substitution jutsu with a broken roof beam in time to see it reduced to ash.

The real Sasuke didn't waste time with threats or expressions of frustration, he merely attacked again.

It was a good reminder that the Tsukuyomi wasn't the only genjutsu available to the Uchiha, and merely avoiding eye contact wasn't sufficient. He had been subjected to the Tsukuyomi once before, and while he could break it, it wasn't something he wanted to repeat, ever.

He moved at his top speed to forestall the other summons' next effort. Dispelling him wouldn't be easy, but it could be done. Drawing inspiration from a kinjutsu that he had learned from Anko, he made his decision. The technique she used required a snake summoning contract, which he lacked, but the idea itself was still sound. Unfortunately, it would take them both out. Inconvenient, but it would more than level the playing field.

A glance at the Hokage showed that he and the ANBU were slowly gaining the upper hand. Tayuya and Kidomaru were dead and Jirobo was failing before the ANBU. Sakon and Ukon were giving the Hokage a bit of trouble, but they didn't seem to be able to hurt him, only to distract him by double-teaming him, retreating and then striking one at a time, taking advantage of each other's actions to get behind him or above him. The old man looked more annoyed than worried, and the brothers were looking worse for wear.

Turning his attention back to the Uchiha summons, he put his plan into action. The tricky part would be hiding his intentions from the Sharingan. Possibilities were sifted and discarded as he continued the dance, and finally, he was left with one option. _This is going to hurt…bad_.

He slowed slightly and allowed two glancing blows and a near miss from a strike that would have been fatal if it had struck him. The summoned Naruto began to fall back. He allowed a more damaging blow to land and deliberately fell short with the counterstrike.

The summoned Sasuke was as inscrutable as any of them, but Naruto thought he detected a hint of satisfaction in the slight twist of his mouth. It was time to change tactics.

Gaining some distance, he threw several of his special kunai. Each had a hidden explosive seal and was guided by a wire. The change in tactics didn't surprise the other summons in the least. Sasuke neatly dodged the knives and severed the wires before Naruto could pull them onto a new course. Gritting his teeth, the blonde Kage charged forward at something less than his top speed.

What happened next happened very quickly to an outside observer. With a slight tilt of his head, the summoned Sasuke managed to make eye contact with his opponent. "Tsukuyomi."

Namikaze Naruto, 6th Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, found himself in a graveyard. He looked around at the headstones out of morbid curiosity and found just what he expected. Each one bore the name of someone he knew, someone who was precious to him. Sakura's stone was to his right, Hinata's just beyond that. Choji's grave was next to Ino's, which didn't surprise him. Iruka sensei was buried next to the Sandaime, and Gaara was flanked by his siblings. He looked to a Sharingan red sky and called out tauntingly, 'Boooorrriiing!"

There was no response. He continued to wander the graveyard, casually reading off names of friends and acquaintances. Finally, something different, if not entirely unexpected happened. A hand grasped his ankle.

He glanced down to see a skeletal hand emerge from old man Ichiraku's grave. The rest of the gruesome looking cadaver followed. Ayame rose from her grave behind him and seized his arms. Others followed. All of them, he noted, were still recognizable despite the rot decorating their bodies.

"You've been watching too many horror movies, Sasuke," he called as a withered Hinata approached and slashed his cheek with the bare bones on her right hand. He ignored the pain. "How do the bones even hold together? They're skeletal; no muscle, no skin."

"Welcome to my Konoha," an emotionless voice spoke behind him. Glancing around, he saw Sasuke approach. "This is what was left after you let the Kyuubi out during a temper tantrum."

"Why do I not believe you?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

"These people you held as precious burned, so there were no actual bodies to bury." He paused in thought. "I was away at the time, so I didn't actually see it. I just saw the smoking ruin you left behind. Perhaps I should show you what I think happened… or perhaps I'll simply let your victims take their vengeance. I suppose there's time for both," he allowed, as the dead started tearing at Naruto. "We have all the time in the world."

OOOOOOOOOO

In the real world, the chakra threads attached to the knives pulled tight, redirecting the flight of the kunai. They responded perfectly to the last command the summoned Naruto had given, wrapping both men in the chakra threads, binding them together. It would be child's play for the summoned Uchiha to snap them, if he were aware.

OOOOOOOOOO

A seeming eternity after the genjutsu had been initiated, Naruto Namikaze hung from the tireless grip of Hyuuga Hinata and Haruno Sakura. Each held one of his arms in an iron grip, preventing him from even trying to evade the tortures that had been visited upon him.

Finally, Sasuke stood before him. "You have endured only a fraction of what your victims suffered, and yet you remain defiant, showing no remorse for your crimes."

"Not my crimes," Naruto answered with bleeding lips, "even if I believed you. And I thought your Konoha was destroyed in under an hour. You've been at this for days." He coughed up blood. "Havin' trouble keeping your story straight?"

"I will break you," Sasuke growled, beginning to lose his patience.

"Not today," Naruto assured him, even as, in the real world, the explosive kunai found their mark and everything went black.


	29. Chapter 29

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.29

The explosion caught everyone by surprise. Sasuke and Naruto were closest and were thrown flat. Both glanced toward the source, only to discover that their respective summons were gone. Their own battle paused only a moment before resuming.

Sarutobi took advantage of the distraction it caused to kill Ukon. Sakon, furious over his brother's death charged in, redoubling his efforts. The Hokage fell back briefly before the rain of increasingly wild blows, encouraging his enemy, before turning one of the attacks aside and slipping under Sakon's guard to shove a kunai into his heart.

After making sure both were dead, he turned his attention to the other fights going on. Jirobo hit the ground a few feet away, and it was clear he wasn't getting up again. It was also clear that the ANBU operative was done fighting for the day; nursing several wounds, none of which looked life-threatening.

Naruto and Sasuke were still fighting and appeared too evenly matched for him to be able to tell who might win. It was likely, Sarutobi realized; that it would come down either to luck or to who had more stamina if he allowed it to continue.

Catching Sasuke's wrist, directly above the Chidori he was trying to gut Naruto with, the Hokage shoved the hand into the rooftop, dissipating the technique harmlessly. A quick blow to the back of the head rendered him unconscious.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, jiji." He frowned down at his teammate. "What are you going to do with him?" he asked after a moment's silence. "I mean… he's… well it's not like he's got no reason to be mad."

"I know, Naruto. The order I gave regarding the Uchiha was the most difficult I have ever had to give as Hokage. At the time, I saw no other way to protect the village. The coup Sasuke's father was planning would have torn the village apart and made us easy prey for the other hidden villages."

"You mean… It was the Uchiha or everyone else?"

"Yes. There may have been another way, but I couldn't see it then." He smiled bitterly at Naruto. "If you wish to wear this hat someday, you must be prepared to put the safety of the village as a whole above all else. Easy to say, but never easy to do."

"I'll… have to think about it," Naruto admitted.

"While you are, remember that the truth about the Uchiha massacre is a secret. Tell no one."

"I won't." Naruto thought he understood why it was a secret. If the other clans got wind of what had actually happened, they might start getting worried about their own position in Konoha. If the Uchiha had been considered a threat, what of the Hyuuga? Or any of the other great clans? Then he went back to his original question. "What about Sasuke?"

"I…do not know," the Hokage admitted, noting the arrival of three more ANBU now that the shield was down. "I will have to think on that, and he will need to be imprisoned while I consider. I know it isn't fair," he cut off Naruto, anticipating his objection, "but this is one of those cases where the good of the village takes precedence."

"I understand," Naruto said glumly, then glanced out over the village, "and there's still a lot of work to do out there." With the barrier down, they could see smoke rising from several points across the village and a fierce battle raging. Sarutobi nodded. He knelt by Sasuke and ran through a few hand seals. There was a brief green glow that Naruto had come to associate with medical chakra and then the old man stood up.

"That should keep him unconscious for some time." He turned to the newly arrived ANBU. "Take him and the injured operative to the medics. Be sure he does not wake until I can deal with him." The ANBU nodded, and one hoisted the Uchiha boy over one shoulder and vanished. "Well, Naruto," the Hokage smiled without humor. "Shall we dispense with these invaders?"

"Right beside you, jiji," Naruto grinned confidently.

OOOOOOOOOO

The next few hours were a blur for Naruto. Once the Hokage entered the fray, the tide turned as the Konoha shinobi saw their leader alive and well. Naruto dispatched over 100 clones to shore up Konoha's defenses, providing the Hokage with updates whenever one was dispelled. As Naruto had used the technique taught to him by the summons in Wave, each clone got the memories of those that dispelled. It made for a very effective army.

OOOOOOOOOO

Three exhausted and wounded chunin cornered by a group of Oto Jonin gaped as a familiar genin appeared via Body Flicker among their enemies. "BOOM," he yelled, sending the five Oto shinobi diving for cover. "Suckers!" he called after them. Doubling over with laughter as the chunin made a break for it.

Five furious Oto nin emerged from their cover and converged on the grinning Naruto. "Suckers," he said again as they came within range, before he exploded.

OOOOOOOOOO

Choji and Shikamaru each managed to kill their opponents, but the fights had gone on long enough that Suna reinforcements had arrived. Two chunin with Suna headbands moved in on the pair, only to be driven back by dozens of shuriken raining down on them.

"Shadow Shuiken jutsu!" The barrage of projectiles forced them to leap to the right, and then back again as another barrage came too close. The second leap put them in the perfect position. A cloud of smoke enveloped the two and ignited, burning fiercely.

Asuma emerged from the side street and looked toward the roof top where Naruto was standing. "Thanks, Naruto," he called. The blonde nodded, noting the jonin was looking a bit battered and walking with a limp, before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Several miles away, the real Naruto reported the situation to the Hokage who sent two chunin in that direction.

The boy frowned as he received another report. "There's a monster made of sand approaching the main gate….I think it's Gaara."

The Hokage frowned. "Who is nearest?"

"Pervy-sage… I mean Jiraiya… is there with Gamabunta. They're having trouble, though. My clones can't help much. Can I…?"

"Go. Render what assistance you can. Leave a clone with me to continue your duties." The boy nodded, created a new clone and rushed off to aid his sensei.


	30. Chapter 30

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH. 30

The journey to the gate was short, but the scene beyond it was frightening. Roughly a mile away, Jiraiya and Gamabunta were struggling with a giant beast made out of sand. Several Konoha shinobi were harrying the beast with hit and run attacks, but the creature was advancing inevitably toward the gates. Landing outside the gate, Naruto moved briefly through the trees, a plan forming in his mind based on the accounts of battles with Gaara his summons had shared with him. Shukaku was nowhere near the river, so washing it away wasn't an option. That left one thing to try that might work. He paused briefly to summon a particular version of himself.

The other Naruto appeared in a cloud of smoke. "What's up, little me?"

"Gaara." He pointed and the summons turned to look.

"Oh. Gaara is up, on top of a sand monster and snoozing by the looks of it."

"He's asleep?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"Not because he's bored, though he may well be. The way Gaara's seal is designed, if he falls asleep, Shukaku takes over. I think it's intentional so that Suna can turn him loose whenever they want and suppress him again just by waking Gaara up."

"So how do we deal with this? I remember what you told me about your fight with him."

"And that'll help, but it won't be enough; not with Gaara this close to the village. Someone needs to wake him up. A good slap should do it. Getting close without getting squashed is the tricky part." He thought a moment. "Try this."

Two minutes later, Naruto and a masked Leaf shinobi that was appropriately anonymous, arrived on the scene. He gathered two of the chunin making runs at the beast and quickly conferred with them, while Naruto joined Jiraiya on the Toad chief's head.

"Hey, Pervy-sage." He clung to the toad's head with chakra as the giant summons leaped around, trying to engage the sand demon.

"Naruto!? Get out of here! This is a Bijuu we're fighting; too dangerous."

"Relax. I've got a plan. Watch." He motioned to the summons and the two chunin he'd recruited for his plan made a run at Shukaku with a new plan. They approached from three sides and each unleashed their most powerful fire jutsu. The reaction was immediate and drastic.

Shukaku reared up and turned to swat them, shedding patches of molten sand as it moved. "See? I picked up a little chemistry from my summons. Fire plus sand equals glass."

"Huh. Not bad, kid, but it's too big. This'll only slow it down."

"That's not the whole plan." Naruto quickly shared what he had learned of Gaara's problem and what happened when he fell asleep.

"Damn. What were those idiots in Suna thinking?!"

"Why don't we rescue Gaara now and worry about that later?"

"Rescue him?" Jiraiya stared at his student in astonishment. "He's attacking us!"

"Shukaku has been messing with his head since he was a baby. He refers to it as 'mother' if you can believe that. It's that damn seal that's to blame."

"That may be but-"

"He's like me. When I look at him I… I can't help but think that that could be me." He gave Jiraiya a pleading look and after a moment, his godfather caved.

"Okay. We wake up Gaara and take him prisoner. I'll…see to the seal."

"Whatever you two are going to do," the giant toad butted in, breathing heavily, "do it fast."

"Someone needs to get close enough to give him a good smack," Naruto said. "We need to get him to hold still, first. The way he's thrashing around now, no one's getting close to Gaara."

"I'm not really built for grabbing onto things," the Toad chief grunted.

"How about a combined transformation?" Naruto suggested.

"That could work," Jiraiya eyed him suspiciously, pretty sure that the plan hadn't come from this Naruto. "How much chakra do you have left?"

"With the boss toad's help? Plenty! Just get the others attacking Shukaku to back off. This is gonna get messy."

Jiraiya nodded. "I'll get 'em clear."

"I'm not so good at transformations," Gamabunta admitted. "I'll lend my chakra but you'll have to guide the technique."

"I can do that."

"It'll need to be something with claws," the toad reminded him. "Something that can get a good grip."

"Right." He glanced at Jiraiya. "Be ready to wake him." Jiraiya nodded and took off to pick a good spot. "Let's do this!" Synchronizing their chakra, the boy and the toad summons called out the technique together and were enveloped in a massive cloud of smoke.

JIraiya watched from his chosen vantage point, waiting his chance. When the smoke cleared, he saw something he had hoped he'd never see. A gigantic fox, taller than Kononha's walls, stood before Shukaku, nine tails lashing furiously. With a great roar, it leaped upon Shukaku, and the two began to struggle.

The fox's claws tore huge chunks of sand free and sent them flying. Legs and torso both suffered deep wounds, but the head was avoided. Shukaku did its best to rebuild itself while fighting back, but the speed and ferocity of the fox's attack left little time for either. Soon the fox was able to bowl it over and pin it to the ground.

_The Kyuubi? Is the kid nuts?! _ Jiraiya wondered as he stared at the conflict in astonishment. _Doing that so close to the village is going to make life very difficult for him._ When Shukaku was pinned, he took his chance, dashing from the cover he'd chosen, he made a flying leap to one of the few surviving trees in the area. The struggle between the two titans had leveled a fair stretch of forest. From the tree, he rebounded, gaining enough height to reach his goal.

He landed almost 20 feet from where Gaara was slumped, half-buried in sand. Not wasting a moment, he ran forward, expecting the sand to yank him down and crush him at any moment, but he must have been too small for the distracted demon to notice. He reached Gaara without trouble, reached out and slapped the boy across the face.

"WAKE UP!"


	31. Chapter 31

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMONS

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or earn any profit by this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Every story draws to an end, and this one is doing just that. Last chapter. Hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Thanks to Librastar for beta reading this. Also, thanks to all the fanfic authors who provided inspiration for aspects of this story.

CH.31

"The last of the invaders has fled or been killed, Hokage-sama," Jiraiya reported. "Oto and Suna are in full retreat and Konoha is secure."

"Excellent, Jiraiya. What is the status of our defenses?"

"Makeshift in places, but secure. The village wall wasn't breached in any significant way. Minor repairs to watch posts have already been started. All of the fires are out and all key points in the village have had guards doubled."

"Gaara?"

"Secure. He and his siblings are in cells in T&I with their chakra suppressed. I haven't had time to look at Gaara's seal, but I think I can help the boy. In the meantime, the three of them should make decent bargaining chips with the council in Suna."

"Suna may have been deceived by Orochimaru, but they still went along with this invasion. There will be suitable repercussions. Time for that later, though. How is Naruto?"

"Mild case of chakra exhaustion, something I didn't think was possible for him." Jiraiya shrugged. "He'll be fine, and happy to know, I'll bet that because of him we didn't get off nearly as bad as we could have. If Shukaku had gotten through the gates, the casualties…"

"I know," Sarutobi nodded. "He was also an invaluable aid during the battle, feeding me intelligence from across the village with his shadow clones. That made it much easier to rally our forces and dispatch troops where they were needed."

"There were still casualties, though," Jiraiya reminded him grimly. "We should have a full list by the morning. There weren't very many civilian casualties, I'm happy to say."

"Good. Have the final list brought to me when it's ready as well as estimates on repair time and troop readiness."

"Of course, Hokage-sama." He thought a moment, before speaking again. "Sensei? It may not be the time, but the exams were interrupted before they could be properly concluded."

"Not the most pressing matter," the Hokage nodded, "but I am considering. I'll let the Council know my decision in that regard soon enough."

"Of course. I'd best get back to work."

"As should I," the Hokage repressed a sigh, looking at the stack of reports on his desk.

OOOOOOOOOO

The darkness receded gradually, leaving Uchiha Sasuke confused and somewhat groggy. He looked around what appeared to be a hospital room. It took a moment to recall what had happened. When he did, he took careful stock of his surroundings and condition. He was bound, his chakra had been sealed, and there was a guard outside the room.

He wondered why he wasn't in a cell. Was the old man really hoping to brainwash him into forgiving or forgetting what had been done to his clan? The Third might be that senile, but Sasuke decided he wasn't going to stick around to find out.

Taking a few moments to gather his wits and assess his condition, he decided it was time to go. He freed himself with relative ease, escape jutsus had always been fairly simple for him, even with restraints designed for shinobi.

The room was windowless, so he moved to the door cautiously. There was just the one guard. He was about to open the door, when it opened from the outside. The guard, a burly ANBU in a dog mask, regarded him silently for a moment.

"The Hokage wants to see you," he said emotionlessly. Sasuke wasn't about to be made a prisoner, but he bided his time as he wasn't being restrained. "Return to bed. He will be here within the hour.

"I-"

"Be grateful you are not in a cell, and do as you are told."

Sasuke gritted his teeth but stood back from the door. It was closed and locked. He knew he had little chance against a trained ANBU, but he'd have less chance when the Hokage arrived. There was no way he could even begin to forgive what the man had done or even pretend to do so.

He briefly examined the room for other possible ways out, but found none. He was considering other options when the door opened and the ANBU stepped into the room before collapsing. Behind him was Kabuto. The boy gave him one of those infuriating smirks before asking, "are you going to stand around all day? Or do you want to get out of this village?"

OOOOOOOOOO

"Gone?" the Hokage asked.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," the ANBU who brought him the news replied. "He apparently freed himself, killed the guard, and fled. We have patrols looking for him now."

"I see," the Hokage fumed. He had given the boy a chance only to have it squandered in spectacular fashion. "I suspect he'll try to leave the village. Alert the guards along the wall and send some Inuzuka clan members to track him. He is not to be allowed beyond the village wall."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." The man left to carry out his orders.

Sarutobi sat down and closed his eyes in pain at yet another senseless death. He should have taken more precautions with the boy, but wanted to demonstrate a measure of good will. In retrospect, it wasn't a terrible surprise that the vengeance obsessed young man had thrown that in his face. He had been left with little choice. The boy had murdered a fellow Leaf shinobi and was no doubt attempting to flee the village. He would be punished for this as village law dictated, and he would be labeled a missing-nin if he escaped the walls of Konoha.

The only good news was that Naruto's summoning scroll had been found and returned to him. It had been found in a storage seal among Sasuke's belongings. At least the little traitor wasn't going anywhere with that.

Sarutobi was not looking forward to informing the council, and dreaded the message he would have to send to Itachi. On the upside, the term in prison would be far safer than life as an active duty shinobi. Perhaps Itachi would be satisfied with that.

Until the search was completed, regardless of outcome, he did have other duties. Happier duties. A signal to his waiting guards later and three people entered his office. They arrayed themselves before him and stood to attention, even if the one on the end fidgeted a bit.

"The exams were not completed," he began, "but I saw enough to be sure of my decision. The Council and the Daimyo have endorsed my choices, making this official." He rose and nodded to an aide who brought in three chunin vests. "Nara Shikamaru, Rock Lee, Uzumaki Naruto. You have demonstrated not only the skill levels and aptitude of chunin, but the ability to think strategically and adapt quickly and effectively to unexpected circumstances. More to the point, you have proven yourselves loyal to the Hidden Leaf Village, demonstrating a willingness to put the safety of Konoha above your own desires and above your own lives. For this, you have each earned the rank of chunin."

Shikamaru nodded lazily while putting his fingers in his ears. The Hokage blinked at this in confusion until the other two started cheering and he had to resist the temptation to plug his own ears.

He gestured for silence and got it after a moment. "You've all done well. This is merely a step on the path, though. Your missions will become more difficult and dangerous. Konoha expects a great deal from you three."

"We won't let you down, Hokage-sama," Shikamaru promised.

"Indeed not!"

"We won't fail you, jiji. Believe it!"

OOOOOOOOOO

"So why help me?" Sasuke asked suspiciously once they had reached an isolated spot several miles from the village.

"Mutual interest," Kabuto answered. "Konoha has taken something important from each of us. Oto lost many fine shinobi today as well as our Otokage."

"Orochimaru," Sasuke grunted, having learned the details from his summons.

"Indeed. Do my loyalties disturb you?"

"No," Sasuke answered honestly. "Oto sounds like a good place to get stronger."

Kabuto smiled winningly. "I assure you, it is."

THE END


End file.
